Fired heaters are amongst the most energy intensive and complex systems on refineries and petrochemical complexes. AMETEK Land has developed a suite of tools to assist producers with the inspection and optimization of a range of fired heaters. We focus on temperature accuracy, image clarity, resolution, and usability in harsh environments.
Overview
Fired heaters are amongst the most complex pieces of major equipment in refineries and petrochemical complexes - each come with unique challenges from a temperature measurement, reliability, and optimization perspective.
Our primary goal, when optimizing fired heaters, is to run the coil outlet temperatures close to their design temperature limits whilst considering safety, minimizing energy costs and emissions. By using industry leading temperature and imaging technology, it is possible to operate with both higher yields and reliability.
Both portable and fixed thermal imagers provide accurate, repeatable TMT and TWT readings independent of operator expertise, which improves efficiency and minimizes the risk of catastrophic failure. Thermal imaging delivers a high-resolution image which identifies, in real-time, the temperature measurements of the tube skin and refractory surface. Portable thermal imaging systems, such as the air-cooled AMETEK Land portable borescope system, permit the benefits of regular and convenient inspections whilst also providing comprehensive temperature data. When selecting a portable thermal imaging system, considerations include the borescope length and the camera's Field of View (FoV). The borescope length should be long enough to comfortably extend through the peep-door, and the FoV must be wide enough to see all tubes in the furnace.
The captured images allow for easy identification of hot and cold spots in a fired heater with a high degree of accuracy, so that mitigation or process control decisions can be made and monitored. In addition, advanced software enables sophisticated processing of the TWT and TMT profile data, allowing emissivity and background temperature adjustments to be made on each tube, or for each zone.
An archive of thermal images shows issues relating to reformer temperature balance, flame impingement, hot spots/band, and catalyst damage, and with associated temperature data help inform maintenance decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Learn about the types of fired heaters on refineries and petrochemical facilities
- Increase understanding of infrared temperature technology
- Improve process efficiency and reduce fuel consumption with practical advice based on decades of experience in temperature measurement and thermal imaging
Speaker
James works with end-users, OEMs, EPCs, technology licensors, and a network of global partners to ensure that AMETEK Land's industry leading technology is implemented across the hydrocarbon and petrochemical industry, to make improvements to process quality, efficiency, and safety. He applies his ten-years of experience with high temperature furnace instrumentation to HPI processes such a hydrogen, ammonia, methanol production using steam methane reformer furnaces, ethylene production using steam cracking furnaces, and other process including flare monitoring, gasifying, sulfur recovery thermal reactors, and more refinery and petrochemical processes.