Effect of Fouling Factors, and Helical Baffles on the Required Area and Cost of Preheat Exchangers of Atmospheric Distillation Unit
Fouling is one of the main parameters in design of heat exchanger. Ignoring this parameter causes problems such as over heating or under heating of process streams. In this article the effect of fouling factors , tube inserts and helical baffle on the heat exchanger network was investigated. First a heat exchanger network was designed using process streams data for CDU of Tehran refinery. Then using TEMA fouling factors, network exchangers were designed and the area and the cost were estimated. By changing fouling factors, the effect of fouling on cost and the heat transfer area was determined. Finally the cost of heat exchanger network using helical baffles and tube inserts as techniques to enhance shell side and tube side of heat exchangers was estimated. It was confirmed that the helical baffle bundles with the helix angle of 40ohas the lowest heat exchanger network cost.
Key Words: Fouling, Heat Exchanger Network, Crude Oil, Pinch, Helical Baffle