A bottom product cooler is required for a project in a terminal in Rotterdam. This ensures the necessary cooling of the product.
This Cooling is done by means of an Air Cooler. The product is cooled using outside air. To increase the surface, fins have been applied to che tubes. Wire mesh inserts are used to improve the heat transfer in the tubes.
Due to the viscous nature of the product and the laminar flow, the heat transfer is not very high. The use of the inserts significantly improves this, making a smaller cooler possible. Plug type headers make each individual tube accessible for cleaning and inspection.
Because wax or hydrate can form at low temperatures, the air cooler was provided with winterization by means of louvres and a steam coil. This allows the temperature of the product to remain at the desired minimum temperature during standstill(s) in the winter months without wax or hydrate forming.To limit the impact on the environment, low-noise fans have been used which can be controlled frequency.
Because inserts had been used successfully earlier, the customer was also interested in this solution. By clever design and applying the inserts, the size of the air cooler could be limited. Due to the possibility to perform the fan calculations in-house, a fan could be selected in which the noise impact on the environment was minimized (max 71 dB (A) at 3 meters from the unit)
Project Manager PID at
Koole Tankstorage Botlek BV
“As one of the most important tank storage and oil processing companies in Europe, we face a challenge when it comes to contamination in the heat exchangers. In addition to being a storage terminal, we are also a production location. We can process raw materials and products for customers. To this end, we have four distillation units on site. These are operated differently each time since the supply currents are constantly changing. In some cases, contamination of the heat exchangers is the result. We have therefore taken joint action with ROBOX and various engineering firms to improve our distillation units. The aim of this project was to find out where the pollution comes from and to look for a future-proof solution.
By placing turbulators – a kind of “wokkels” – in the tubes of the heat exchanger, our processes have become cleaner and faster: our throughput has almost quadrupled. The rotating movement of the liquids in the tubes ensures that the walls are protected. The fact that we achieved this result is partly due to the innovative role ROBOX played in this.
They think along intensively and switch quickly to meet delivery times. In our case, close cooperation was also required with the various parties that lead our projects. They have designed this to their satisfaction. Customer focus is paramount at ROBOX: what is agreed upon is always fulfilled. ”
It is an Air Cooler. A one-pass high finned (aluminum fins) bundle with plug type headers, type PHFP 4/9000 x 2600 Completely in C-steel according to PED cat. II / Mod.A1 (bundle) and cat.III / Mod H (for the steam coil) and ASME VIII Div. 1