Heat exchangers to provide efficient gas cooling solution

Paul Boughton

HRS Heat Exchangers Limited is supplying 16 of its c to Gas Compressors Ltd for use in gas cooling applications across a number of refineries in Turkey.

The units are being used to cool recovered high temperature, high pressure flare gas to knock out liquids and improve gas compressor efficiency across three refineries.

Gas Compressors Ltd (GCL) is a single source, plug and play, supplier offering complete packages to its clients. It specialises in the design, manufacture and commissioning of large and medium sized, custom built/bespoke gas compressor and booster packages for use in the Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Landfill, Water, Renewable and Petrochemical Industries.

HRS K Series shell and tube heat exchangers were selected for this application because of their ability to provide efficient operation at high temperature and high pressure. The units will be assembled into the compressor packages being manufactured by GCL in the UK. Two compressors will be used on each of the four process streams, with two heat exchangers per compressor to provide precooling and interstage cooling for the application.

Critical design considerations for the heat exchangers included the required thermal duty for gas cooling, condensation of liquids, minimising pressure drop and the overall size of the package. The units, manufactured by HRS in India to ASME and TEMA R code, were carefully designed to meet all requirements and provide efficient service.

HRS K Series heat exchangers have an internal corrugation which has been proven to create turbulence in the flow without impeding it. The turbulent flow produces better heat transfer because it mixes the fluid, whereas a laminar flow relies solely on the thermal conductivity of the fluid to transfer heat from the middle of the flow to the heat exchanger walls.

The resulting increase in thermal efficiency, with a heat transfer coefficient which can be as much as double of that of smooth tube heat exchanger, enables a compact package design with minimum pressure drop. The flare gas passes through the tube side of the heat exchanger and cooling water on the shell side.

As the gas cools, liquids are forced out to ensure better compressor performance and an overall more efficient process.

For more information, visit www.hrs-heatexchangers.com

Recent Issues