HEURTEY PETROCHEM

Flux Distribution in Fired Heaters
A Case Study

Niaz Mustafa
 Agenda

HEURTEY IN BRIEF

FURNACE DESIGN

CASE STUDY

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HEURTEY IN BRIEF

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 Heurtey at a Glance
EXPERTISE & TECHNOLOGIES
Leader in Process Furnaces design
Owner of the international standard design software : FRNC5 for heaters &
REFORM3 for SMR
The world largest proprietary technologies portfolio for Oil & Gas treatment

INTEGRATED EXECUTION MODEL

In-house basic design, 3D modeling and manufacturing

GLOBAL NETWORK
Strong Regional Operating centers
Fully owned manufacturing facilities

MODULARIZATION
A unique Know-how – Dedicated to Modular Strategy

ALL PROJECT SIZES

From small revamps to large turnkey units

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 Heurtey – Leaders in Furnace Design

Leader in Process
Furnaces Design
Refining
Owner of the
international
standard design Petrochemical
software : FRNC5 for
heaters & REFORM3 Syngas
for SMR
Thousands of
furnaces in operation
worldwide
In-house basic
design, 3D modeling
and manufacturing

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 Heurtey Group
ST. PETERSBURG

FRANCE CHINA
LOS ANGELES ROMANIA
TULSA KOREA
HOUSTON
KSA UAE INDIA

KUALA
LUMPUR
BRAZIL

Group Subsidiaries
Support / Sales Offices
Manufacturing workshops
Worldwide Activity
Owns design software: FRNC5 for heaters & REFORM3 for SMR
Dedicated manufacturing facilities,
Highly qualified staff providing an unparalleled expertise,
Local network operating on all strategic foreign markets,
Capacity to conduct any type of projects, from an engineering study to the turnkey delivery
of fully manufactured equipment.
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 Studies & Revamps

Heurtey Petrochem can Mechanical,

carry out any revamping instrumentation
project, from a simple Increasing and control
the heater studies
study to the replacement capacity
of large modules
Optimizing
existing heater
efficiency
Studying
change of
process
Manufacture
feed and
and erection
fuel
associated
works

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 Field Activity Support

Heurtey Petrochem’s experts follow the furnace operations throughout their

lifetime by providing :

1. Identification of the bottlenecks to solve problems

2. Investigation with client's operational team
3. Furnace inspection and field survey
Timeline

4. Performance test
5. Training
6. Start-up assistance

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 Spare Parts Sourcing

Client’s constraints are our priority when it comes to after sales services
Thanks to a qualified and reliable suppliers network and our internal
engineering and QA/QC teams, Heurtey Petrochem can provide any
spare part, from a single burner tip to a fully modularised convection
section

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 Proper Heat Flux Distribution is
Critical for Successful
Heater Operation

How to Ensure this in Heater Design?

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FURNACE DESIGN

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 Design Objective

Design within the allowable radiant heat flux for

the service and minimize
Film Temperature (coking tendency)
Tube Metal temperature (material life / cost)
Heat Transfer Area (cost)

Specify and select appropriate burner

technology to meet flux and emission
requirements

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 Uniform Firing

Double Fired design ensures uniform firing

compared to Single Fired design

(1.8 – 2.0) X Average Flux (1.2 – 1.3) X Average Flux

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 Role of Burner in Design

Burner Design is important to meet flux and emission

requirements
Flame height and pattern are dependent on burner type
Lower emissions require extended combustion zone (to
lower flame temperature and allow for re-circulation)
Not all burner make and model is suitable for all
applications
It is not possible to select the burner make/model before
heater is designed
Typical refinery heater burners are tested at vendor
shop for flame and emission requirements
CFD Modeling and Flux Profile are not tested for typical
refinery heaters
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CASE STUDY

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 Background
North American Installation
Box Heater, 4 tube rows (passes)
Heavy Feed and Film Temperature limit leads to
Double Fired Design
Minimize site work, Shipping limitations fixed
heater width; Plot Plan restricted Heater Length
Heater Duty required Taller Firebox, Tube length ~
18M; so Burner Flame needed to be tall enough
for proper flux distribution
Heavy Feed and Film Temperature limit leads to
Double Fired Design
Flame Height specified as 8M (min); Burner
Vendor confirms; During Burner Test flame Height
<4M, BUT approved by Project Team
No CFD done during project stage

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 Problems Reported
Burner Operation not stable
Flame Impingement on Tubes
High tube metal temperatures, higher than
600°C (Design 540°C), at low heater load
Coking reported on tubes
Operational issues identified
Limitation on burner air control at lower load,
leading to high excess air
Flame Interaction and Bunching Together
No feed data available
Heater simulation shows lower calculated tube
temperature
IR Scan of Tubes shows higher tube
temperature
Burner identified as the root cause

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 New Vendor CFD
CFD of Existing Configuration re-
done
Results show significant flame
interaction and impingement on
Tubes
End wall Burners too far away
from wall, leading to flue gas
circulation towards the middle

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 Solutions

Move End Wall Burner

closer to wall
Make Middle Row of
Burner with only one set
of burners
Introduce heat towards
the top of firebox – add
new rows of burners on
`
the wall `

Hence Reduce Burner

Liberation on the Floor

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 CFD Results
CFD of Modified
Configuration Done
Results show there is no
flame interaction and
impingement on Tubes
Flue gas circulation at the
end Walls going straight
up, Minimum towards the
middle of Box

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 CFD Result Comparison- Flue Gas

Before After

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 CFD Result Comparison - Flame

Before After

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 Comparison – Tube Metal Temperature

Tube Metal Temperature Comparison (Before  Tube Metal Temperature Comparison (Before and 
and After Modification) After Modification)
580
580

560 560

540 540

Maximum Tube Metal Temperature (C) 
Maximum Tube Metal Temperature (C) 

520 BEFORE 520 BEFORE

Pass 1‐Before Mod Pass 3‐Before Mod
500 500
Pass 2‐Before Mod Pass 4‐Before Mod

480
Pass 1‐After Mod Pass 3‐After Mod
480
Pass 2‐After Mod Pass 4‐After Mod
460 460
AFTER
440 440
AFTER

420
420
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Radiant Tube Number
Radiant Tube Number

Pass 1 and 2 Pass 3 and 4

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 Site Results after Changes

Existing burners replaced with New Burners as

discussed previously
Stable Burner Operation
No Flame Impingement on Tubes
Tube metal temperatures reduced by 80°C -
100°C and maximum ~480°C at 85% Load
Feed Property is suspected to be not the same
as Design

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 Site Comparison of Flames

Before Before

After After

Burner Flames stable after modification!!

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 Comparison of Infra Red (IR) Scan

IR Scan Survey of Tubes

Pass North Side South Side Pass North Side South Side

486‐545°C 469‐606°C 374‐463°C 
1 1 356‐487°C

481‐544°C 487‐540°C 323‐452°C 

2 2 351‐451°C

503‐569°C 490‐577°C 378‐472°C 

3 3 353‐446°C

512‐559°C 498‐540°C 329‐439°C 

4 4 383‐471°C

Original Design @ Modified Design @

70% capacity 85% capacity

TMT* is much lower but at higher load !!

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*TMT: Tube Metal Temperature
 Conclusion

Flame height and pattern are dependent on

burner type
Not all burner make and model is suitable for all
applications
CFD Modeling of Heater Firebox is
Recommended, even for regular Services
This is critical for special design features like
Double Fired, Tall Firebox, Low Nox Emission

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