Application of a computer program to evaluate performance of process furnaces, segment by pipeline segment, based on a real case of crude oil case of crude oil heating for atmospheric distillation. atmospheric distillation.

Abstract

Process furnaces are critical operating units of petroleum and chemical facilities in general, whose service is to provide combustion heat to process streams. The evaluation of the performance of this equipment, based on real data, is an essential activity for their diagnosis and operational improvement. The standard evaluation methodology consists of implementing resources such as API 560 to evaluate heat absorption and thermal efficiency from fire side data. The developed computer program is used to evaluate the performance of the tube coil furnace segment by segment, segment by segment. The developed computer program is used to evaluate the performance of the tube coil furnace segment by segment, based on the same data and, load and equipment data. It is a proprietary development coded in Fortran 95. An outline of the program applied to crude oil heating service for atmospheric distillation, main equations, and evaluation of a real furnace are presented. The comparison of the program with real data showed deviations in the order of 1% for the flue gas temperature in the radiant arc, absorbed heat and thermal efficiency, and 4% for the crude oil outlet temperature. The evaluation of the convective bench showed a 50% reduction with respect to design in fin efficiencies,` which raises as a possible explanation the damage of extended surface or smaller surface than specified in design. The program shows potential for evaluating the design of the radiation section of process furnaces, based on the comparison of the temperature in the radiant arc.