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March

2017

HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING

152

HEAT TECHNOLOGY

Q

Why is heat technology so crucial to downstream

process plant operations?

Heat technology is required in many downstream processes to achieve

the desired chemical reaction necessary to refine a rawmaterial into

something more valuable. The ability to achieve and maintain the

optimal temperature is crucial to processing and refining efficiency and

productivity. Temperatures that are too high can result in thermal

degradation of the heated medium or coking on critical heat transfer

surfaces. Temperatures that are too low could prevent the desired

chemical reaction or decrease process yields. Sometimes heat energy

is added simply to offset thermal losses to the environment. Finally,

heat energy is sometimes added to achieve a viscosity suitable for

fluid flow or pumping.

Q

What are the main applications for your company’s

heat technologies or equipment within the

downstream industry?

The main downstream applications for Watlow at the highest level

start with refining of petroleum crude oil and the processing of raw

natural gas. At a level below that, some of the main applications

include continuous catalytic regeneration columns, sulfur recovery

units, amine units, air separation units, knock out drums and

dehydration units. Depending on the specific application, the

company’s equipment typically assists by thermally regenerating both

liquid and solid saturated surfaces, vapourising fluids or raising the

temperature of a fluid to achieve a desired thermal reaction.

Q

What was your company’s first heat related equipment

or technology aimed at the downstream oil and gas

industry?

The first was a direct electric heat exchanger utilising joule heating.

Those first products functioned well and the joule technology is still in

use today. What has changed a lot since then is the control and sensing

technologies. The power control technologies combined with the

temperature controller features and algorithms give the modern user

an extremely flexible menu of options that can reduce both energy

consumption and improve process durability and reliability.

Q

In what ways can heat technology help to improve

energy efficiency and reduce emissions at process plants?

The sensor portion of the thermal system is a critical component to

ensure reliable and accurate communications with process controllers.

Whether the sensor is for pressure, temperature, flow, etc., the ability

to accurately determine the process condition and appropriately

adjust inputs and outputs helps to ensure the process operates as

designed and intended. The intended operational mode is always the

most efficient and lowest emissions scenario.

Q

How have R&D methods evolved over the past 10 years

in relation to downstream heat technology?

The use of computers for modelling and analysis continues to improve

and evolve. Computing ability continues to go up in smaller packages.

Finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

software packages continue to evolve, and when it is paired with the

latest computers, the results can be achieved at a faster rate when

compared to 10 years ago. Laboratory test sensors can be paired up

with small data loggers to help provide quicker and more accurate

correlation with numerical modelling results. The speed of testing

results and improved information is leading to smarter product design

in heat exchangers and other thermal equipment. In addition, the new

knowledge can often be useful to customers through web-based

application software, which can often be linked directly to the

customers equipment. It is the Internet of Things (IoT) age.

Q

Talk us through your company’s design process for

new heat technologies or equipment.

Watlow uses a process called lean product development (LPD). The

manufacturing facilities around the world are all lean practitioners, so

there is some natural synergy gained by practicing LPD. Key resources

for learning about LPD are Michael Kennedy’s 'Product Development

for the Lean Enterprise' (2003) and Allen Ward’s 'Lean Product & Process

Development' (2008). Some of the hallmarks of LPD include

understanding and establishing the true needs of the customer or

market, and set-based concurrent engineering.

Q

Explain how new heat equipment or technology is tested.

Testing is part of the LPD process. In LPD, most testing occurs

during the ‘exploration’ phase, during which multiple alternative

implementations are explored (explored typically means testing or trial

runs within the LPD process). When exploration is completed, the

company moves to ‘lock-in’, during which a single solution is detailed

out for the new equipment or technology that Watlow intends to take

to market and/or turn into intellectual property.

Q

What has been your company’s biggest technological

breakthrough in terms of downstream heat technology?

So far, it has been the OPTIMAX

®

electric heat exchanger technology,

which has resulted in 50% or more smaller equipment sizes. This

footprint and weight reduction has enabled customers to engineer

smaller and lighter modules and packaged assemblies. The improved

CAPEX possibilities associated with the technology are also an

advantage.

Q

How has the recent oil market volatility affected the

heat technology/equipment sector?

Primarily through reduced capital expenditure budgets, which

reduce the market size for new equipment builds. Over time, that

also means reduced budgets for R&D. Consequently, new

technologies will arrive in the market later, which, in turn, could

reduce consumer cost and/or improve workplace safety.

Q

Where do you see the heat technology market in

10 years?

The increasing demand will be for heat technology that improves

process control, asset management and capital expenditures.

Government regulations around emissions will play a role in

determining which heat technologies are most attractive to both

customers and suppliers, particularly in new construction.

Industrial IoT will take hold where there is a good value

proposition for the users. The demand for refined hydrocarbons

continues to grow, and process engineers will continue to seek

ways to engineer out the need for adding heat energy. Ultimately,

Watlow does not foresee anything on the 10 year horizon that will

reduce the need for heat energy or new heat energy technologies.

There will most likely be a more direct application of joule type

resistance heat, rather than indirect through hot oil systems and

similar, for efficiency purposes, and because the control

technologies will be superior.

DENNIS LONG, WATLOW, USA