Cooling is achieved by means of an Air Cooler. In this process, the product is cooled using ambient outdoor air. To increase the surface area, fins have been applied to the tubes. To improve heat transfer within the tubes, wire mesh inserts are utilized.
Due to the viscous nature of the product and the laminar flow, the heat transfer rate is not very high. The application of these inserts significantly improves this, allowing for a smaller cooler. The cover plate headers make the tubes accessible for cleaning or inspection.
Because hydrate formation can occur at low temperatures, the air cooler was equipped with winterization by means of louvres and electric heaters. This allows the product temperature to remain at the desired minimum during downtime and in the winter months without hydrate formation occurring.
To limit the environmental impact, low-noise fans have been applied which can be frequency-controlled.
Through smart design and the application of inserts, the size of the air cooler could be limited. The ability to perform fan calculations in-house allowed for the selection of an impeller that minimized the noise impact on the environment (max 72 dB(A) at 1 meter from the unit).
This concerns an Air Cooler. A multi-pass high finned (aluminum fins) bundle with cover plate headers, type CHFC 4 / 7680 x 2350. Entirely in carbon steel according to PED cat.I/Mod.A, ASME VIII Div.1 and API 661 (ISO13706).