REVAMPING AIR PRE-HEAT DUCT WORK

XRG was selected to design and supply the new cold air bypass duct for the air preheater (APH) unit of a twin cell heater at a Texas refinery.

The Problem: The existing APH experienced frequent plugging, cold end corrosion, and leaks, therefore limiting production. The existing cold air bypass duct is an integral part of the APH itself, which is suspected to partially contribute to the current state of deterioration of the APH.

The Solution: XRG partnered with our customer to design a cold air bypass duct routed from the existing APH cold air inlet duct, splitting and reinjecting the cold air back into the existing hot combustion air duct that supplies hot air to 2 cells.

The project design included:

  • A bypass air duct was designed which bleeds off cold air from the top of the FD fan outlet duct and splits into two secondary ducts to deliver the required amount of air into the mixing header at the air preheater outlet.
  • A control damper at the main duct is used to vary the bypass air from 40,527 to 9,573 lb/h.
  • Biasing dampers in the secondary ducts to allow for variation in firing rate between cells.
  • A mixing vane designed to reduce temperature deviation of air at individual burners.
  • Figure 3 shows the CFD simulation study that was used to optimize the design and location of the turning vane within the prescribed constraints of available pressure drop to minimize temperature variation to each burner while keeping the existing hot combustion air duct. This helped to minimize manufacturing and installation costs and lowered the turnaround time.
  • Fabrication
  • Logistics
Existing APH and ductwork
Temperature distribution of air inside duct and burner for without-guide-vane (left) and with-guide-vane (right) design
Ductwork in the fabrication shop
cropped-logoi.png

XRG Technologies
1855 E 15th Street
Tulsa, OK 74104
info@xrgtechnologies.com
+1 918-201-2656

          

Ask an expert
© 2026
Please fill out the form below and we will be in contact as soon as possible.
GET IN TOUCH
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name(Required)
Please fill out the form below and we will be in contact as soon as possible.
GET IN TOUCH
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name(Required)
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.