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193
of Industrial Chemistry, 21 Chlorine Gardens, The Queen k Universiry of Belfast, Belfast BT9 SAG, U.K.
November
July 7, 1980)
Abstract
A study of steam and condensate utilisation on a refinery has been undertaken. Based
on the total amount of steam produced on
the plant approximately
36% was being
returned to the system as condensate. Since
75% should be returned, a large quantity
of steam and condensate was being lost. A
total of 7 100 kg h-l condensate and steam
losses were detected of which 5450 kg h-
were condensate losses. Nevertheless, in financial terms, the economic losses are greater
due to the 1650 kg h- of steam being lost.
A survey of the plant to locate and meaINTRODUCTION
In the nineteen-fifties
and -sixties the
western world had a cheap and plentiful
supply of oil from the Middle East. The prices
remained relatively constant and not until1
after the Middle East War of 1973 did the
price dramatically increase and has continued
to rise ever since. With a cheap supply of fuel
suddenly gone, many of the processing
industries which could formerly afford to
be carefree with their fuel usage, found
that there were large savings to be made on
their plants. Insulation of equipment and
pipework, heat recovery from processed
0167-188X/81/0000-0000/$02.50
01981
Elsevier Scientific
Publishing
Company
194
units within the plant, e.g. catalytic reformer
units, contain furnaces whose primary objective is heating process fluids but also have
a secondary function of steam raising. Water
tubes in each of the furnaces are situated
at the top of the combustion chambers
where heat is transferred from the flue gases
before they exit to the stack. During normal
plant operation, steam production from each
of these waste-heat boilers is fairly constant
throughout the year. The other steam raising
equipment on the plant is oil-fired boilers.
They usually produce in excess of half of
the plants steam requirement
and are also
the variable component in the plant for steam
production. Any variations in steam requirement are met directly by these boilers.
Normally one feed-water system is used
to feed all types of boilers within the plant.
The water has to be de-aerated immediately
before being pumped to the boilers. This deaeration process, which involves the removal
of dissolved oxygen to prevent severe corrosion problems with boiler tubes, is carried
out by boiling the water with steam which
releases the uncondensible
gases to the atmosphere, with only a small steam loss. The
water supplied to the de-aerator will be from
three sources: firstly as condensate which has
been returned from the plant; secondly as
newly softened towns water used as make-up;
and thirdly as steam, much of which gives UP
its latent heat to the cool softened water.
The use of low and high pressure steam.
can be categorised into those processes in
which there can and cannot be condensate
returned from them. Processes which use
steam for stripping purposes or atomisation
in burners etc. cannot return any of the condensate which may be formed. Steam, which
is used for heating and driving turbines,
compressors, etc., can be returned in the
form of condensate to the boiler feed-water
system.
Optimisation of the condensate return
system, identification
and rectification
of all
condensate and steam losses will yield considerable financial rewards. The paper discusses how all the leaks can be quantified, and
in addition considers heat losses from condensate pipes and economic justification
for
lagging these pipes is given. Finally, efficiency
tests are given on a refinery boiler and recommendations are made to improve the efficiency.
This investigation was undertaken on a
small integrated refinery, processing 1 .S X 1O6
tonnes of crude oil per annum, and the refinery was commissioned in 1964.
CONDENSATE AND STEAM
PRODUCTION
Before attempting to pin-point losses in
the plant steam and condensate systems, it
was necessary to obtain a mass balance
incorporating make up water, steam generation and condensate return, It is essential to
determine the amount of water being returned as condensate and compare this
figure with the quantity which could be
returned under ideal circumstances,
i.e.
assuming no steam or condensate losses.
Since all the steam on the plant is produced
from water which passes through the deaerator, and as all condensate from the
plant is returned to the de-aerator, this is
the most satisfactory point to perform
the mass balance on the system. The overall
balance is:
MASS INTO DE-AERATOR
= MASS OUT OF DE-AERATOR
In terms of component
kg h-
softened
water
kg h-
+ condensate
= kg h-
boiler
feed-water
(1)
kg h-
+ vent
(negligible)
(2)
195
TABLE
The various techniques of energy conservation used in the investigation will now be
considered. Having quantified the total
steam and condensate losses over the plant,
the next part of the energy project was to
quantify as many of the individual losses
as possible. It was impossible to locate certain
leaks, such as those occurring in heating
coils in tanks or leaks in underground pipes.
usage on plant
24
6
18
8
9
(kg h- 1
500
050
4.50
850
600
ESTIMATION
OF ENERGY LOSSES
1000
60
50
40
" 98;;
700
600
500
30
20
20
400
400
300
(lb h-')
10
15
200
7
5
3
2
1f
l/6"
Orifice
2oo
(bar)
100
10
6":
7
40
100
80
20
4
4.23
mm
Diameter
50
Steam
Steam
Lost
Pressure
(gauge)
steam systems
when
orifice
diameter
is known.
(p.s.i.)
196
to the conditions of discharge through a small
circular orifice, consequently
the loss calculations have only limited accuracy. The steam
losses on the plant were estimated using the
nomogram shown in Fig. 1, and the economic
losses due to steam are based on the following
equations:
Steam
cost
CLkg-)
Heat in
Heat in
Water
= cost
+ steam
- water
(kJ kg-)
o<J kg- )
G kg- )
Boiler efficienc$
[
I
The total
1650 kg h-
of & 60 500
steam leaks
difficulty.
Fuel
x cost
(fZkJ- )
197
TABLE 2
Steam trap leaks
Type of trap
Operating properfy
Failure
Disc-type
(impulse or
thermodynamic)
Opening and
snap-closing of
disc several times
per minute.
Rapid chattering
of disc as steam blows
through.
Mechanicaltype
(bucket)
Cycling sound of
the bucket as it
opens and closes.
hissing
sound of
steam blowing
through at high
velocity.
Thermostatic-type
Sound of periodic
discharge if on
medium to high
load; possibly no
sound if light load,
throttled discharge.
Whistling sound of
steam blowing
through at high
velocity.
thermocouple
is needed and a knowledge of
the line pressure upstream and downstream
of the trap.
At each steam pressure there is a corresponding temperature
range within which the
surface temperature
of the pipe should lie
and these values are shown in Fig. 2.
10
30
20
Pipe
internal
Steam
Pressure
(bar)
40
198
Three hundred steam traps were tested
on the plant and only 75% of these were
found to satisfy the conditions for correct
operation. From a quantitative standpoint,
steam trap losses were ascertained through the
use of the C, concept. The term C, expresses the flow capability of the steam trap
and can be obtained from standard figures
or from a flow factor which is obtained from
Fig. 3. An example of the calculation is now
given.
7r
,"
4000
3000
5
CI
2000
_c
,
g
G
5
d)
x
4000
3000
2000
1000
Bar
1OOOC
5000
s
d
1000
I
10
,'O
30
I.
40
TABLE 3
Dimensions and temperatures of individual pipelines
Pipe
number
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Ambient
temperature
ec,
Average skin
temperature
ec,
Pipe
outside
diameter
(mm)
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
93
93
82
71
60
71
88
60
49
38
32
38
61
61
61
61
61
61
36
61
61
89
89
61
Pipe
length
(m)
11
11
41
20
27
119
119
99
10
93
46
183
199
the condensate is often leaving its source at
bubble point temperature,
in the past heat
losses from the bare pipes have never been
considered great enough to warrant spending
money on insulation. Now, however, as the
cost of producing heat energy is so much
greater, the economics of lagging condensate
pipes has been reconsidered.
There are three measurements
required
for the calculation of the heat loss from a
pipe, namely, the skin temperature
at the
end of the pipes (provided the temperature
gradient along the pipe is constant) and the
ambient air temperature.
The results of
studies on twelve pipelines are shown in
Table 3 and an example of the calculations
used are given for pipeline 6. The methods
used are based on those recommended
by
the Department of Energy [ l-41.
(a) Heat loss determination for pipe 6. Nomograms are used to calculate the radiant heat
transfer coefficient (RHTC) and the natural
convective heat transfer coefficient (NCHTC)
as shown in Fig. 5 and 6. The NCHTC is used
to calculate the forced convective heat
-17.0
Surface
Temperature
-15.0
-14.0
J3.0
Ambient
Temperature
Temperature
G.5
J2.0
!4dK-'
-11.0
-10.0
-9.0
-8.0
-7.0
-6.0
A.0
Coefficient
of Heat
Transfer
for Natural
Convection
Ambient
Surface
Temperature
l.15
1
10
1.10
-10
20
6.0
30
40
OF
1
z
50
10
XL
60
70
1.00
0C
5.5
2O
90
l2
125,260
-240
100
3o
4o
50
4.5
0.80
4.0
0.70
3.5
0.60
3.0
Fig. 6. Coefficient
of heat transfer
from a hot surface.
.280
OC
0.90 >
10
11
150.-300
t-
80
for natural
convection
.50
-16.0
OF
-4.0
Radiant
Transfer
Heat
Coefficient
Fig. 7. Correction factors for natural convection heat loss from a cylindrical surface.
transfer coefficient (FCHTC) which incorporates a correction factor for the surface
being cylindrical in shape and these factors
may be obtained from Fig. 7. The RHTC and
FCHTC are combined to give an overall heat
transfer coefficient (OHTC). The data pipe
no. 6 and the final heat loss are given in Table 4.
TABLE 4
TABLE 5
Data for pipe no. 6
Economic insulation thicknesses (mm) for hot pipework
Length
Outside diameter
Average skin temperature
Ambient temperature
From Fig. 5, radiant HTC
From Fig. 6, NCHTC
From Fig. 7, correction factor
Correction factor for wind
Forced CHlC
Overall HTC (iY)
Pipe surface area (A)
Heat loss
119 m
61 mm
71C
4.5C
6.25 Wm- K-
4.77 Wmma K-
1.13
1.5
4.77 x 1.13 x 1.5 =
8.08 Wm- I(-
6.25 + 8.08 =
14.33 Wrne2 KwL
22.76 mQ= UAaT=
21.7 x IO3 W
Nominal
pipe
SiX
up
(mm)
100
25
40
50
75
100
150
200
250
300
40
40
40
50
50
50
65
65
6.5
to
150
200
250
300
3.50
400
50
50
50
65
65
65
65
65
65
50
65
65
6.5
65
65
75
90
90
65
65
65
65
75
75
75
90
100
65
65
65
65
90
100
115
115
115
65
65
65
90
100
115
115
125
125
75
75
75
100
115
125
140
140
150
201
TABLE
Installed
TABLE
Economic
for preformed
rigid fibrous
sections
(January
1979)
Nominal
pipe size
Insulation
(mm)
(mm)
40
50
65
75
90
100
115
125
140
150
50
75
100
150
200
500
600
5.00
5.62
6.05
6.87
8.91
10.28
11.20
6.80
7.65
8.24
9.36
12.14
14.01
15.26
8.31
9.42
10.30
12.21
15.06
16.15
18.58
9.19
10.93
11.29
14.11
16.54
17.18
20.48
12.52
13.13
14.01
16.88
18.48
20.48
23.41
13.86
14.57
15.23
17.96
19.82
22.37
25.22
15.49
16.90
17.98
20.12
23.11
24.91
28.32
16.54
17.72
19.11
22.15
24.58
27.21
30.32
19.02
20.68
22.18
25.17
28.43
30.19
34.45
20.87
22.26
24.03
21.53
30.16
32.85
36.78
7
calculations
Heat loss
From Table 5, economic
insulation thickness
From Fig. 8, heat loss from
insulated pipe
Heat saving
Energy costs of the plant
Total annual saving
From Table 6 installed
cost of insulation
Cost for pipe no. 6
Pay-back time
TABLE
38 mm
1940 W
19.76 x lo3 W
f. 6.14 X 1O-6 W-r
E 991 per year
E 5.00 per m
E 595
595/991 = 0.60 years
Energy
and financial
Pipe
number
Heat loss
from bare
pipe (WI
1
2
3
4
5
6
I
8
9
10
11
12
3213
3213
9937
3892
4215
21710
18980
15300
1191
10730
4275
15240
Heat loss
from
lagged
(mm)
pipe WI
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
50
50
40
273
273
950
329
211
1940
1830
950
77
538
264
1055
pipework
Heat saved
per hour
(W)
Financial
Cost of
saving
insulation
Pay-back
period
(E/year)
(f)
(years)
2940
2940
8987
3563
4064
19770
17150
14350
1114
10192
4011
14185
141
147
450
179
204
991
860
119
56
511
201
711
55
55
205
101
137
595
595
494
50
741
363
914
0.37
0.37
0.46
0.56
0.67
0.60
0.69
0.69
0.89
1.45
1.80
1.29
202
(C) Total heat content of steam = 2855 kJ kg-
Heat content of steam = 43.4 X lo6 kJ kg-
Feed water to boiler = 15 420 kg h-r
Heat content of feed water = 407 kJ kg-
(D) Total heat content = 6.28 X lo6 kJ h-*
C-D
Efficiency = A+B
of
x 100% = 81.6%
TABLE 9
Boiler efficiency test data
Test
Fuel oil
Fuel gas
Steam
Feed
no.
(ml
(m
production
water
(kg h- )
(kg h- )
-____
h-l)
h-l)
Stack
Boiler
efficiency
loss
(%I
f%)
1 .OOS
216
15200
15420
81.6
10.6
0.946
294
15420
15650
81.3
10.5
0.965
236
14520
14740
79.1
10.6
0.952
209
14060
14290
19.3
10.6
203
components is likely to occur in the stack.
Boiler efficiency tests should be performed
on a regular basis to monitor the performance
of the boiler throughout its operation.
CONCLUSION
An energy conservation study has been
undertaken on an oil refinery. The study
involved an assessment of the financial savings
available from the efficient utilisation of
steam. Steam leaks were responsible for
financial losses of & 60 500 per year; heat
losses from steam and condensate return
pipes amounted to & 22 000 per annum,
and inefficient steam trapping produced
losses of & 32 000 per year. Further savings
were available on the plant by better insulation and more efficient boiler operation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their
gratitude to Mr. B. Reid and Mr. R.S.
McDowell, Department of Industrial Chemistry,
The Queens University of Belfast, for their
assistance throughout the duration of this
project.
REFERENCES
British Standards
BS 5422, 1977.
British Standards BS 3958 Parts l-5. The Use of
Thermal Insulating Materials.
British Standards
BS 1588 and BS 3708. Economic
Thickness of Insulation.
Department
of Energy, 1978. Fuel Efficiency
Booklet
No. 8. The Economic Thickness of Insulation for Hot
pipes :
Williams, J.N., 1969. Steam Generation. Allen and Unwin.
Dehnel, P.D., 1973. Fundamentals of Boiler House Techniques. Hutchinson.
Brame J.S.S. and King, J.G., 1967. Fuel. Ed. Arnold.