REBOILER FURNACE REPLACEMENT & REVAMP

The Problem: The end user sought to enhance their Naphtha Processing capabilities and engaged XRG to evaluate the feasibility of repurposing existing furnaces for the new Naphtha Expansion project. To reduce costs, a total of 6 old furnaces were subjected to a comprehensive study to identify the most suitable candidates for conversion. Ultimately, three furnaces were selected for revamping and conversion.

Options Investigated:

 

Revamp & Repair Existing Furnaces:

Findings: Upon inspection, two of the existing furnaces were identified with structural damage resulting from a fire incident in the 1970s. XRG completed preliminary structural calculations and determined the furnaces could be re-used for the purpose intended by the end user with structural modifications and structural re-enforcing.

Decision: XRG worked with the end user, formulating designs to work with a revamped furnace. After discussion with the end user, it was determined due to the extent of damage, repairing these furnaces was deemed possible, but impractical, and thus, they were marked for replacement.

Replace Existing Furnaces:

Approach: In order to reduce costs, the project preferred not to install new underground pilings and new piers would be installed only. XRG explored the possibility of designing new furnaces for two of the selected units, ensuring compatibility with the existing foundations.

Evaluation: In the evaluation process, particular emphasis was placed on the foundation as a forefront consideration in the project’s design thinking. The objective was to guarantee that any additional loading, particularly related to the any outside forces, were meticulously accounted for in both the foundation loading and design. This approach aimed to ensure the existing foundation would be acceptable to effectively support the new furnace design while maintaining overall system stability.

Repair and Revamp of the Third Furnace:

Target: Upon inspection, it was determined that the third furnace, being relatively newer, was deemed a suitable candidate for revamping rather than repair. To guide the revamp process, a process study was conducted to determine the required modifications to bring the furnace operating within the end users expectations.

Evaluation: The conducted study identified and outlined the necessary revamp fixes, encompassing the installation of new radiant tubes, the incorporation of new burners, the integration of a new stack damper, and the implementation of updated instrumentation. This revamp aimed to optimize the third furnace for the specific requirements of the Naphtha Processing Expansion, ensuring enhanced efficiency and compatibility with the project objectives.

Aerial view of radiant section
Lower stack
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XRG Technologies
1855 E 15th Street
Tulsa, OK 74104
info@xrgtechnologies.com
+1 918-201-2656

          

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ERWIN PLATVOET
As CTO of XRG, Erwin is a true innovator, whose career spans more than three decades in heat transfer and combustion industries. Erwin is a graduate of Twente University in the Netherlands with a MS in Chemical Engineering. Erwin has served the industry around the globe in a variety of roles including Research and Development Engineer, Cracking Furnace Specialist, and Director of Engineering, and now CTO. Erwin holds eight patents in fired heat transfer and emissions control technology, has published numerous papers, and co-authored the John Zink Combustion handbook and Industrial Combustion Testing book. Erwin has been an active member of the API 560 and API 535 subcommittees and taken an active role in revising these standards.
BAILEY HENDRIX
Bailey graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation, she joined the private sector as an Applications Engineer in Tulsa, OK at a local combustion company where she managed the sales activities for the process burner refining market. She quickly accelerated her career, becoming the Refining Account Manager responsible for all business development and sales of process burners in North and South America. Her strong leadership skills and interpersonal qualities led her to a position as the Western Hemisphere Sales Director for the process burner business, leading a group of sales engineers in the areas of new equipment, retrofits and burner management systems. Her financial and commercial acumen drives the success of XRG Technologies’ business development.
ALLEN BURRIS
Allen’s background includes 10 years of experience in designing and selling process burners. Allen is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed professional mechanical engineer in the State of Oklahoma. His knowledge and superior customer focus led him to a career change to process design, custom-engineered fired heater sales, and associated sub-systems for the petrochemical, refining and NGL industries. With more than two decades of experience in the combustion and fired heater industry, Allen has what it takes to overcome challenges associated with complex projects and possesses.
TIM WEBSTER
With over 25 years of experience in the combustion industry, Tim brings a wealth of industry experience and technical expertise to XRG. Tim graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University and received a Master of Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Tim began his career engineering custom combustion systems for a wide range of applications including boilers, heaters, furnaces, kilns, and incinerators. Tim is a licensed professional mechanical engineer in the states of California, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, has authored numerous articles and papers, and has co-authored several combustion handbooks.
matt martin
As the Lead Scientist at XRG, Matt has over 30 years of experience in the combustion industry. He specializes in CFD of fired equipment, including UOP platforming heaters, burners in process heaters, thermal oxidizers and flares with over 300 simulations of installed, field-proven equipment. Matt received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Tulsa. He has written numerous publications, is listed as inventor or co-inventor on 27 patents and was awarded the title of Honeywell Fellow in 2011 for technical excellence and leadership.
gina briggs
Gina is a native Oklahoman and attended the University of Tulsa, graduating with a BSBA in Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant. Gina began her career with the Tulsa office of Deloitte Haskins and Sells, providing audit and tax services. Since leaving Deloitte, she has held CFO positions with privately held companies in the manufacturing, construction and distribution industries. In 2013, she began a consulting practice providing contract CFO services to companies, one of which was XRG and joined XRG as CFO in 2019. Gina has always enjoyed working in the small business arena, helping business owners to profitably grow and manage their businesses.