The process is cooled using forced ambient air. To increase the surface, tubes are equipped with fins. 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 inserts significantly improves this, reducing the size of the cooler. The cover plate headers make the tubes accessible for cleaning and 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 temperature of the product to remain at the desired minimum temperature during standstill in the winter months without the formation of hydrate.
To limit the impact on the environment, low-noise fans have been used which can be frequency controlled.
Size reductions have been realized without concessions to the heat exchanger duty. Fan calculations, performed in-house, resulted in a low-noise fan with minimal noise impact on the environment (max 72 dB (A) at 1 meter from the unit).
Air Cooled Heat Exchanger (ACHE). A multi-pass high finned (aluminum fins) bundle with cover plate headers, type CHFC 4/7680 x 2350. Entirely in C-steel according to PED cat.I / Mod.A, ASME VIII Div.1 and API 661 (ISO13706)