HEATER TREATER SOLUTIONS

Grit Industries Inc. and the CWT Indirect Heater

GRIT INDUSTRIES INC.

 Founded in 1985 by president Wayne King

 Head office in Lloydminster, Alberta (administration, R&D, and service base)
 100,000 ft² manufacturing facility located in North Battleford, Saskatchewan
 120-plus work force including production workers, service technicians, sales, engineering,
and administration
 Distribution network across Canada and the USA
GRIT INDUSTRIES INC.

 Manufacturer of heating solutions for the oil and gas sectors

 Manufacturer of secondary containment systems
 Manufacturer of solids-handling equipment
 Provider of installation and maintenance services
 Innovative solutions for industry problems
VERTICAL HEATER TREATER

Problems and Solutions

VERTICAL HEATER TREATER: A HISTORY

 VHT was developed to facilitate gas, oil, and water separation with the application of
heat
 The VHT traditionally uses a fire tube heater which, by design, is a simplistic device with an
inherently low thermal efficiency
 The fire tube design contributes to a high rate of structural tube failures
 Chemical additives were introduced to assist separation while reducing the amount of
heat required - thus reducing tube failures
VERTICAL HEATER TREATER: PRESENT

 Incoming standards for the Bakken Petroleum Region (April, 2015) will result in the VHT
being further utilized for Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) reduction through the elevation of
crude temperatures
 The result will be increased operation of the fire tube beyond traditional levels
 Problems, failures, and serious incidences will increase dramatically beyond the
pre-chemical treating era
TYPICAL VHT COMPONENTS

 ASME pressure vessel

 Fire tube section (ASME or non-ASME)
 Stack
 Gas fired burner head (lbs of gas)
 Tank temperature controls
FIRE TUBE SECTION-HEAT EXCHANGER

 Simple pipe construction of a selected

diameter to provide the required
transfer area for a given application
 Produced in a U-shape so that the inlet
and outlet are at the same side of the
vessel
 Burner flame fires into the lower pass
with cooler combustion gases exiting
on the upper pass
 End up with “hot” and “cold” ends
resulting in non-uniform heating of the
fluids
 Occupies a relatively small x-sec area
of the vessel - poor heat distribution
FIRE TUBE: DESIGN MERITS

 Simple
 Low initial capital cost
 Simple means anyone can manufacture (non-ASME version) - plentiful
 Industry is very familiar with operation
FIRE TUBE: DESIGN DEFICIENCIES

 Poor thermal efficiency (industry studies indicate 40-45% at best)

 Hot section is subject to extreme temperatures (direct flame impingement)
 High temperatures cause premature gasket failures
 High skin temperatures mean that the oil cannot be in direct contact with the tube, must
heat the water phase (increases vessel size)
 High temperatures cause the water in contact with the tube to boil which leads to tube
scale (mineral deposits)
 Tube scale reduces heat transfer and results in increased localized skin temperatures and
tube degradation
 High temperatures reduce the life of corrosion inhibiters (coatings)
 Reduced heat transfer requires increasing the firing rates, which compounds the
problems
 Tube failure is imminent
COLD WEATHER TECHNOLOGY (CWT)

Grit Industries Inc.’s CWT Product Line

COLD WEATHER TECHNOLOGY (CWT)

 Innovative heating system using two-phase thermal syphon vacuum process

 Requires no electrical source to operate (no pumps or motors)
 Virtually silent operation once it has been brought to temperature
 Been in use as a natural gas line heater for over 12 years throughout North America
 Been in use directly heating light oil in tanks for processing purposes for over six years
 Consistent thermal efficiencies between 70 - 80% (into process), third-party testing
 Approved for use in North Dakota and Saskatchewan for in-tank treating of light oil
CWT: THE PROCESS

 Utilizes an ASME Sec IV steam boiler

 Closed system under vacuum with no
make-up water required
 Low pressure flame bed supplies heat to
the water/glycol mixture causing the
water to boil almost instantly, results in
an exceptional response time
 Uses the latent heat of vaporization,
efficient
 Steam temperature self adjusts to 250° F
 Uses process line temperature sensor
ensuring exacting control
 ASME Sec IV controls insure safety
CWT: THE ADAPTATION - FROM

SINGLE WELL IN TANK TREATING BATTERY IN TANK TREATING

CWT: THE ADAPTATION - TO

VERTICAL HEATER TREATER PROCESS DEMO UNIT

CWT: THE ADAPTATION - TO
CWT: HEAT EXCHANGER FEATURES

 Purpose designed for treater applications

 ASME Sec VIII flange and tubes
 Approved for use in North Dakota
 Standard models with 50.5 ft² and 101 ft²
of tube transfer area (will replace 0.5 mm
btu/hr and 1.0 mm btu/hr fire tubes)
 Uses latent heat transfer (condensing
steam)yielding a uniform temperature
profile across the entire exchanger
 Multiple tube arrangement utilizes a
larger x-sec area of the vessel (16 5/8”
wide), yields superior heat distribution
CWT: HEAT EXCHANGER FEATURES

 Lowering the water-oil interface level

increases the capacity of existing treaters
(or decreases the heat requirement) by
heating the oil directly
 The water flow through removes the bare
minimum of heat as the water is not the
heating medium
 Eliminates natural drafting when idling
 Horizontal treater configurations available
CWT: IMAGES
CWT: IMAGES
CWT: HEAT EXCHANGER OPTIONAL LAYOUTS
CWT: ADDRESSING FIRE TUBE DEFICIENCIES

FIRE TUBE CWT

 Low Efficiency (40-45%)  Independently tested at 70-80%
Excess fuel consumption Up to 60% fuel savings
Increased GHG emissions Reduces GHG emissions
Oversized burners Low press. flame bed
(lbs of gas pressure) (oz gas pressure)
Increased exchange area
CWT: ADDRESSING FIRE TUBE DEFICIENCIES

FIRE TUBE CWT

 Non- uniform heating  Steam provides uniform temperature
profile across the exchanger

 Extreme heat at burner end causes  Maximum 250° F steam temperature with
premature gasket failures ability to operate lower as required, within
gasket specifications

 Excessive heat results in coating  Operates within coating specifications

failure
CWT: ADDRESSING FIRE TUBE DEFICIENCIES

FIRE TUBE CWT

 High skin temperatures requires  250° F skin temperature allows for direct
heating of the water phase heating of the oil

 Heating of the water phase

 250° F skin temperature prevents tube
causes scaling leading to external
tube degradation and decreased scaling maintaining transfer efficiency
transfer efficiency throughout the units life

 Use of low grade fuels can lead to  Requires clean dry gas. Internal
internal tube corrosion vacuum eliminates internal exchanger
corrosion
CWT: ADDRESSING FIRE TUBE DEFICIENCIES

FIRE TUBE CWT

 Fire tube inspections consist of waiting for  With no scaling or heat degradation,
leakage to become obvious inspections become virtually unnecessary

 Industry indicates fire tube life can be as  Independent 3rd party destructive testing
low as two years at current firing rates puts the boiler life at over 40 years, with a
predicted exchanger life at over 15 years

 New regulations will require fire tubes to

be operated for longer intervals resulting  New regulations easily met
in an increased failure rate
FIRE TUBE AND CWT ECONOMICS

FIRE TUBE CWT

 Low initial capital cost  Higher initial capital cost

 High efficiency ensures low cost of

 High cost of operation operation

 Low temperature vacuum system has a

 Short life cycle (2 - 3 yrs) proven extended life cycle (boiler at over 40
years, exchanger predicted to be 15 yrs)

 High life cycle / maintenance costs

 Low life cycle / maintenance costs
ECONOMICS: THE COST OF STATUS QUO

Ex: 600 bbl/day oil production, $50/bbl, 24 month fire tube life cycle, 3 day replacement time

 Vacuum truck to pull down treater fluids $1,000

 Crew to disconnect and prep for fire tube pull $1,500
 Picker truck to pull and reinstall fire tube $1,500
 Cost of replacement fire tube, gasket and freight (non-ASME) $4,000
 Crew to replace fire tube, reconnect and commission $2,000
 Disposal $500
 Lost cash flow $90,000
Total cost (providing no spills, fires, injuries, liabilities) $100,500
Equivalent yearly cost of replacement $50,250
ECONOMICS: CWT SOLUTION

Ex: 600 bbl/day oil production, $50/bbl, 15 year exchanger life cycle, 30 year boiler life cycle, 3 day
replacement time (i.e. one exchanger replacement over 30 year period)

 Vacuum truck to pull down treater fluids $1,000

 Crew to disconnect and prep for exchanger pull $2,000
 Picker truck to pull and reinstall exchanger $2,500
 Cost of replacement exchanger/gasket/freight (ASME CERTIFED) $17,500
 Crew to replace exchanger, reconnect and commission $2,000
 Disposal $500
 Lost cash flow $90,000
Total cost (at year 15) $115,500
Equivalent yearly cost of replacement (over 30 years) $3,850
 RECAP

CWT Indirect Heater: Innovative - Safe - Economic

 Certified equipment
 Safe
 Efficient
 Durable
 Silent
 12 month warranty on parts and labour
 Low life cycle cost
8% of the fire tube
PAYMENT OPTIONS
385 (equivalent to 500,000 BTU/hr fire tube)
 Purchase: $46,000.00
 Lease: $2,750 per month
 50% of payments in first year can be
applied to buyout as a credit
 Annual PM service included
 Operational issues (such as caused by dirty,
wet gas) not covered
770 (equivalent to 1,000,000 BTU/hr fire tube)
 Purchase: $56,000.00
 Lease: $3,350 per month
 50% of payments in first year can be
applied to buyout as a credit
 Annual PM service included
 Operational issues (such as caused by dirty, wet
gas) not covered
GRIT INDUSTRIES INC.

 Lloydminster Main Office:  North Battleford Plant

10-50-1-4 Airport Road NW P:(306) 445-6695
Lloydminster, Alberta F: (306) 445-2812
T9V 3A5
Canada

1-877-TRY-GRIT (879-4748)
P: (780) 875-5577
F: (780) 808-8415