Industrial

Connectivity
The importance of voice and data integrity
for harsh environments
See Page 34
Guide to Filtration
Equipment Selection
Outlining the goals for a specific
application is critical
See Page 47
Supplement to:
The modern manufacturing environment is designed to
operate with significantly greater efficiency than its pred-
ecessor. Even older plants have begun reaping the bene-
fits of modern technology through capital investments, or
retrofits of existing resources. Still, as process streamlin-
ing continues, the challenge becomes one of keeping
pace with external cost pressures by lowering capital and
operating expenses while working to ensure the best pos-
sible system performance today and in the future.
For applications such as industrial gas production, nat-
ural gas processing, refinery and petrochemical process-
ing, and hydrogen and helium liquefaction, the refrigera-
tion and gas separation cycles requires a great deal of
energy and associated cost. Given recent advances in the
technology and design of heat exchangers, plant owners
and operators across a broad spectrum of industries no
longer are limited to a one system fits all approach.
Consequently, there is no better time to carefully eval-
uate your current processing systems with an eye toward
its cost of acquisition and daily operation, performance
and efficiency, processing capacity, quality and reliabili-
ty, and the impact it has on environmental and energy
efficiency requirements.

Exchanger Types
Todays heat exchangers for typical industrial processing
applications generally fall under two categories:
shell-and-tube
brazed aluminum heat exchangers
(compact heat exchangers)
Shell-and-tube exchangers remain the most widely
used vehicle for heat transfer in process applications. For
this type of heat exchanger, tubes are mechanically at-
tached to tube sheets that are enclosed inside a shell with
ports for inlet and outlet fluid or gas. Shell-and-tube ex-
changers are versatile and robust, servicing applications
requiring processing of dirty, corrosive fluids, where
thermal performance and compactness are not
important considerations.
Historically, shell-and-tube exchangers have dominat-
ed the market for warm, corrosive or dirty applications.
While this arrangement offered serviceable performance
over time, issues of durability, limited application range
and high horsepower requirements tended to increase
operating costs and limit system reliability.
Brazed aluminum heat exchangers are manufac-
tured as an all brazed and welded pressure vessel with no
mechanical joints. The core matrix is produced by vacu-
um brazing; that is joining the fins, bars and parting
sheets at high temperature in a clean, vacuum environ-
ment. Brazed aluminum exchangers, due to their inher-
ently high surface area compactness, possess superior
heat transfer capabilities and can be cost effective for
non-corrosive gases and liquids as compared with tradi-
tional shell-and-tube exchangers. Historically, this type of
heat exchanger has been used in cryogenic applications
where small approach temperatures and the superior
notch toughness of aluminum was important, i.e. indus-
trial gas production of N2 and O2. But as the significant
benefits of brazed aluminum heat exchangers have been
recognized by process designers and plant operators, their
application broadened into important areas of Natural
Gas Processing, LNG Production and Petrochemical
Processing. For example, brazed aluminum heat exchang-
ers are standard for application for the gas-to-gas exchang-
er and side and bottom broilers in modern natural gas
processing facilities.
Brazed aluminum plate fin heat exchangers offer opti-
mized heat transfer fin designs, advanced brazing tech-
nologies, quality ensured manufacturing processes and a
continuous improvement program. The multi-stream
capabilities of products like this simplify multiple shell-
and-tube limited stream configurations into a single com-
pact brazed aluminum unit. Brazed aluminum heat
exchangers are typically 20% the size of comparable per-
formance carbon or stainless steel shell-and-tube
All Heat Exchangers
Are Not Created Equal
Application matching is key to maximizing performance
By Dan Markussen
Chart Industries
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exchangers and are 10% of the weight.
When studying the applied use of brazed aluminum
plate-fin heat exchangers, it is wise to consider the con-
struction of the plate-fin matrix itself. brazed aluminum
heat exchangers are built by stacking layers of corrugated
fins separated by parting sheets and sealed along the
edges with side bars.
A wide range of fin patterns (plain, perforated, her-
ringbone and serrated) accommodate different thermal
and hydraulic process requirements enabling the
exchanger to be custom designed for an infinite number
of processes. The matrix assembly is brazed in a large
vacuum furnace to form an integral, rigid heat exchanger
block. Exchanger block sizes can be in excess of 4W x 5D
x 25H. The overall maximum size will depend on the
manufacturer selected. Headers and supports welded
onto the brazed matrix complete the unit. Design varia-
tions in the configuration of the heat exchanger matrix
can accommodate an almost unlimited range of flow
options, including counter flow, cross flow, parallel flow,
multi-pass and multi-stream formats.
While brazed aluminum exchangers should only be
used with relatively clean process streams, the advan-
tages of close temperature approaches, compactness, flow
options and a unique ability to exchange heat with multi-
ple streams make them ideal alternatives to shell-and-
tube exchangers for numerous processing requirements.
Responding to the markets needs for special heat
transfer applications of brazed aluminum heat exchang-
ers, Chart Industries has developed novel applications of
this unique exchanger.
Core-in-kettle heat exchangers utilize a brazed alu-
minum plate-fin exchanger located within a large cylin-
drical kettle. The aluminum plate-fin exchanger replaces
the traditional tube bundle in a new or existing shell-and-
tube unit and typically is one-fifth the weight and half
the volume of its shell-and-tube equivalent. Its brazed
aluminum construction also eliminates mechanical joints
and thus, leakage potential.
Core-in-kettle exchangers offer the benefits of lower
installation and operating costs, less insulation and liquid
inventory, and reduced horsepower requirements
through the application of small temperature approaches.
Core-in-kettle heat exchangers also can greatly improve
the efficiency and economy of chillers, vaporizers, reboil-
ers and condensers. In fact, the design is so efficient that
tight approach temperatures down to 2F may be used,
thereby increasing plant capacity and reducing horsepow-
er requirements.
Run Back Condensers (Dephlegmators) are similar
to Core-in-kettle exchangers in that the brazed aluminum
exchanger is mounted inside a vessel. With run back con-
densers, though, the exchanger is mounted vertically -
usually on the top of a distillation column. This affords
cryogenic refrigeration at high points along the column
and accommodates heat and mass transfer effects while
avoiding flooding. Traditionally, run back condensers are
used for petrochemical applications, and natural gas pro-
cessing providing improved product recoveries.
Mercury Tolerant Designs - Special Considerations
Concerns about liquid mercurys corrosive effects on alu-
minum has resulted in the development of sophisticated
mercury resistant technologies. Consequently, users of
shell-and-tube exchangers may not realize the greater effi-
ciency that a brazed aluminum product offers in the pres-
ence of a mercury environment. Through almost 20 years
of continued research and development, Chart Industries
has developed exchanger designs that help mitigate the
effects of liquid mercury corrosion. Although liquid mer-
cury can be highly corrosive to some alloys of aluminum,
Charts mercury-tolerant designs allow the user to incor-
porate all the advantages of brazed aluminum in their
plant processes.
Matching Technologies With Applications
Aside from quality and performance factors, a key to
maximizing performance in a heat exchanger system lies
T h e P r o c e s s E n g i n e e r
Nozzle
Header
Wear Plate
(Rubbing Plate
Distributor
Fin
Support Angle
Side Bar
Parting Sheet
Cap Sheet
in the ability to match the application to the
appropriate technology. Correct decisions will
help to ensure low-cost, effective operation over the long
term.
As stated above, shell-and-tube heat exchangers are
versatile, all-around products intended for warm, corro-
sive or dirty applications where thermal performance is
not highly valued. Conversely, brazed aluminum heat
exchangers are ideal for cold/cryogenic, clean process
streams where thermal performance, close temperature
approaches, compactness and low weight are important
plant considerations. Key applications include industrial
gas production, natural gas processing, refinery and
petrochemical processing, hydrogen and helium liquefac-
tion and recovery, and offshore platform or FPSO pro-
cessing. Likewise, core-in-kettle types are limited to clean
fluids typical of hydrocarbon processing, natural gas pro-
cessing and liquefaction. For petrochemical applications
that produce ethylene, core-in-kettle, shell-and-tube and
run back condensers are all suitable options.
Oftentimes, picking the right heat exchanger for the
job is largely a process-driven task. In a refinement sce-
nario, shell-and-tube exchangers are a natural fit for plant
locations where warm conditions exist at the front end.
As the product becomes more refined and the plant be-
comes colder, brazed aluminum exchangers then become
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Applications
Industrial Gas Production
I Air Separation
I Liquefaction
Natural Gas Processing (NGP)
I Ethane Recovery
I Nitrogen Rejection Unit (NRU)
I Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
I Helium Recovery
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
I Base Load
I Peakshaver
Refinery and Petrochemical
Processing
I Ethylene
I MTBE
I Ammonia
I Refinery Off-Gas Purification
I Hydrogen Recovery
Refrigeration Systems
I Cascade Cooling
I Liquefaction
Products & Fluids
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Argon
Rare Gases
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Ethane
Propane
Butane
Pentane
Nitrogen
Helium
Hydrogen
Hexane
Carbon Dioxide
Liquefied Natural Gas
Multi-component Refrigerants
Ethylene
Propylene
Ethane
Propane
MTBE
Ammonia
Carbon Monoxide
Hydrogen
Helium
Freon
Propane
Ethylene
Propylene
Nitrogen
Hydrogen
Multi-component Refrigerants
Typical
Temperature
Range
+65 to -200C
+49 to -328F
+100 to -130C
+212 to -202F
+65 to -200C
+149 to 328F
+120 to -200C
+248 to -328F
+100 to -269C
+212 to -452F
Typical
Pressure
Range
1 to 60 barg
14 to 870 psig
15 to 100 barg
217 to 1450 psig
5 to 75 barg
72 to 1087 psig
1 to 100 barg
14 to 1450 psig
15 to 45 barg
217 to 650 psig
T h e P r o c e s s E n g i n e e r
an integral part of the heat transfer processing chain.
Cost is another consideration. While brazed aluminum
offers many benefits over its shell-and-tube counterparts,
a smaller or more fundamental application may benefit
from an equally utilitarian shell-and-tube heat exchanger
or exchanger system. Moreover, as the availability and
affordability of energy used to operate plants varies global-
ly, the energy-efficient benefits of brazed aluminum heat
exchangers may not dictate its use in certain applications.
For a comprehensive list of applications for brazed
aluminum heat exchangers, products and fluids, and typical
temperature and pressure ranges, please refer to the table.
Performance Benefits
Shell-and-tube exchangers are versatile and applicable for a
wide variety of uses. However, brazed aluminum offers a
range of features and benefits that shell-and-tube cannot
offer. These include: Less weight and overall size for the
same service; lower initial and operating costs; and
reduced approach temperature and increased exchanger
surface area. Savings are realized through lower compres-
sion horsepower, added cooling, an increase in plant capac-
ity for the same horsepower, and decreased compressor
costs as well as reduced liquid inventory and a resultant
reduction in operating cost and improved plant safety.
Retrofits - An Easy, Affordable Alternative
When product demand exceeds plant capacity, plant own-
ers may seek to increase capacity. For plants utilizing
shell-and-tube exchangers in cold applications two pri-
mary options exist: Replacement of the shell and tube by
a core-in-kettle or retrofitting an existing shell-and-tube.
In the latter case, the tube bundle can be removed and
replaced by a core-in-kettle block, thus gaining increased
efficiency (up to 10 times more surface area) in the same
physical size.
Quality Control
It is essential to utilize heat exchanger vendors that
adhere to strict ASME and/or international standards that
are recognized by accredited code authorities. Additional
consideration should be given to shell and tube vendors
that adhere to TEMA standards as well as brazed alu-
minum manufacturers that belong to the Brazed
Aluminum Plate Fin Heat Exchanger Manufacturers
Association (ALPEMA).
Additionally it is important to consider exchanger
manufacturers that provide the following quality verifica-
tion techniques.
Hydrostatic and pneumatic proof testing
Performance flow testing
External and vacuum helium leak detection
Dye penetrant and X-ray testing
Ideally, a total commitment to quality and reliability
should be manifest through full accreditation to ISO9001.
Service and Support
Given its significance in the processing environment, it is
wise to consider heat exchanger manufacturers that offer
installation assistance, repair and replacement. Repair to
damaged exchangers should also be accompanied by full
damage assessment and testing procedures. All work
should be carried out to the original manufacturing quali-
ty criteria and marked with the ASME code R symbol.
In particular, look to a manufacturer that will re-rate
your exchangers if your process requirements change, or
if you contemplate such an adjustment. That is, when
equipment is custom designed, it is built for specific
process conditions. If process conditions change over
time, a manufacturer such as Chart Industries can assist
brazed aluminum exchanger customers with rating the
existing exchanger to the updated process. Re-rates can
also be performed mechanically and updated ASME
nameplates can be provided.
In Summary
Backed by more than a half-century of research, develop-
ment and field successes, brazed aluminum heat
exchangers have clearly developed a strong position in
critical process applications due to their efficiency, com-
pactness and overall cost advantage. Core-in-kettle
designs supplement these benefits by offering added flex-
ibility in replacing or retrofitting traditional shell-and-
tube units. However, shell-and-tube exchangers will
remain staples in many applications due to their multi-
functional design. Still, as external costs and pressures
continue to squeeze profitability, plant owners through-
out the world can realize significant savings by leveraging
the latest heat exchanger technology as a means to lower-
ing costs while expanding capacity. A partnership with a
knowledgeable and experienced heat exchanger manufac-
turer who understands your process will go a long way to
helping to ensure maximum efficiency.
Dan Markussen is a Principal Sales Engineer and Account
Manager for Chart Industries Energy & Chemicals Division,
Heat Exchanger Group. He is a Six Sigma Greenbelt with
global product management, sales and engineering experience.
Reprinted with permission from Chemical Equipment