Heat exchangers for the cooling of contaminated water

Background

General background on water cooled by heat exchangers:

Heat exchangers for contaminated water that are removed from a crude-oil-washing facility for the removal of minerals, are frequently clogged and require regular and costly maintenance in dismantling, cleaning and reassembly. The challenge lies in designing and constructing heat exchangers that will prevent their blockage over a six months’ period. Analyzing the composition of the water fouling and providing proper engineering planning for the problem, can keep maintenance and cleaning intervals down, thus reducing heavy maintenance costs.

Pictured: Heat exchanger for contaminated water (left side) which replaced heat exchanger with a different structure (right side) which did not meet previous experiment requirements.

The objective

The Refineries have chosen "Krashin-Shalev" to meet the heat exchanger design challenge, that will not be blocked for a six months’ period since the last cleaning maintenance, which will be considered a success.

The challenge

Design and build heat exchangers for contaminated water at the refineries that will not clog more than once every six months.

The Project’s Solution

“Krashin-Shalev” has built one experimental heat exchanger with our special asymmetric plates in a special engineering design that was adapted to the contaminated water composition and kept the heat exchanger maintenance and cleaning intervals for only six months at most. After installing the experimental heat exchanger in 2011, we performed a joint optimization process with the refineries, which produced excellent results. Accordingly, we have manufactured the heat exchanger system that lasts without cleaning for over two years!

The outcome

Significant operational efficiency!

With unique knowledge, original design and optimization process management, we were able to get the heat exchangers serviced and cleaned once in more than two years - a quadrupled interval of challenge put forward. It means, we have saved the refineries three very expensive maintenance and cleaning operations that also have operational/operative implications and cost-effective operation savings.