Case Study: Capacity Increase at Sulfinol Plant
The Challenge
Since 1980, CALGAVIN’s primary technology hiTRAN® Thermal Systems, a tube side heat transfer enhancement product for industrial heat exchangers, has been used to optimise new designs for primarily utility heat exchangers, e.g. compressor lube oil air coolers, for many years. The hiTRAN product has also been retrofitted to key process heat exchangers, giving the benefit of reduced capital costs and removing the need to replace underperforming units. A gas sweetening plant situated in The Netherlands operated a Sulfinol air cooler, where the fans were required to run at full speed during the summer resulting in significant energy usage. Although the unit was equipped with variable speed drives to meet cooling demand, the running costs were high. The traditional approach to increase heat rejection by enhancing the tube side was not viable due to pressure drop constraints and diminishing thermal driving force, therefore, would not deliver meaningful benefits and a different approach was required.
The Solution
To address this, CALGAVIN proposed a targeted retrofit using hiTRAN Thermal Enhancement inserts, focusing on improving heat transfer sufficiently to reduce required airflow, rather than maximising duty. By increasing the tube-side heat transfer coefficient by approximately 10%, the system was able to maintain the same heat rejection with significantly reduced air flow. Inserts were installed strategically to offer delivered performance gains, while keeping the pressure drop increase small and within allowable limits. The installation was completed during a short shutdown window and required no structural modifications. The benefits alone highlight that with rising energy costs, optimising operating expenditure has become a key driver for retrofit projects and this case demonstrates that even a modest increase in heat transfer performance can unlock substantial energy savings when approached strategically.