Modifying Crude Heaters for Shale Processing

Refiners have started processing shale crudes in their refineries and are facing a number of problems. The atmospheric heaters which have traditionally been designed for heavy crudes preheating are suddenly processing very light unstable crudes. Several of these heaters are having severe coking issues. Furnace Improvements worked with a client and identified the issues causing the coking of the tubes. A number of modifications have been proposed to the heater to make it suitable for processing the light shale crudes and have a long run length at the same time. We will discuss the same in this presentation.