Economic and Environmental Implications of Fouling in Crude Preheat Trains

Abstract

The economic, environmental and safety consequences of fouling are the key reasons for industrial and research interest in heat exchanger fouling and cleaning. The implication of fouling in crude oil refineries has changed in the recent decades due to better monitoring tools, use of fouling mitigation devices, optimization of the use of antifoulants, optimization of process conditions, better blending of crudes, better design of heat exchangers and selection of exchanger tube materials. This brings a need for the economic impact of fouling in crude refinery preheat train to be revisited. The estimation of the cost of fouling in crude preheat train is discussed via updating the assumptions previously used in literature. The updated fouling cost estimate for the crude preheat train in the US refining sector is likely to be in the range of 1–1.2 B US$ per year for 2019. It is shown that the cost of fouling needs to be associated with a relevant refining profit or a crude refining margin as it is possible for the refinery to processes crudes with higher fouling problems after compensating the fouling cost with the price of the crude.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Edward Masato Ishiyama

Edward Ishiyama is a Senior Technical Lead (SmartPM) at HTRI. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. His research interests include applying heat transfer, process control, and thermodynamics principles to identify and solve problems associated with heat exchanger networks. His doctoral work entitled ‘Modeling of heat exchanger networks subject to fouling’ has led to the development of software tools to manage fouling in heat exchanger networks worldwide. He is currently the secretary of the International Conference on Heat Exchanger Fouling and Cleaning.

Simon John Pugh

Simon Pugh is the Senior Product Lead (SmartPM) at HTRI. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Brunel University, UK. Prior to joining HTRI in the fall of 2016, he was Director of Downstream Research at IHS in London, UK. At HTRI he leads a group of engineers working on the development and application of new software, with particular emphasis on improved refinery heat exchanger network efficiency. With his team, he works closely as a consultant with engineers at several of the world’s leading refining companies, developing and applying SmartPM models.

Hans U. Zettler

Hans U. Zettler completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, under his advisor Professor Hans Muller-Steinhagen. His doctoral work focused on fouling and fouling mitigation by design and surface modification in compact heat exchangers. He also possesses a mechanical engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing.) from the Technical University Karlsruhe, Germany. He completed multiple internships in industry throughout Europe while pursuing his education. As President at HTRI (Heat Transfer Research, Inc.), he oversees HTRI's sales operations globally. He is a member of the German Engineering Society (VDI), an associate member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and a committee member of the Heat Transfer Society, United Kingdom.