XRG Completes Turnkey Heater Efficiency Project

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XRG Technologies recently completed the revamp of a large vertical cylinder (VC) crude heater, solving several operational problems while increasing efficiency from 78% to 91%.
Utilizing CFD modeling, XRG discovered that the existing double circle burner layout was causing flame clouds, hot spots on the tubes, and substantial outlet temperature imbalances between the different radiant passes limiting the furnace capacity. The hot spots caused radiant section tube creep in the heater and shorter run lengths between decoking.
CFD Before and After
To increase the heater efficiency, XRG designed a balanced draft air preheat system to take advantage of the heat that was being lost out the stack. XRG engineers modeled the combustion inside the furnace and optimized the heat flux profile by replacing the fifteen existing natural draft burners with five new forced draft burners.
                 Previous Burner Arrangement                                                              New Burner Arrangement
Because the higher capacity burners operate with preheated combustion air, XRG worked with the burner manufacturer to produce optimal flame height and flux profile while meeting the stringent NOx requirements when operating on the refinery’s wide variety of fuels.
CFD by XRG of previous flame shape and absorbed flux (left) and new burner performance (right)
To take advantage of an already planned outage on the heater, XRG provided turn-key supply and installation of the equipment required to revamp the heater, including ID and FD fans, ductwork, dampers and air pre-heater. XRG utilized its 3D modeling capabilities to design flue gas and combustion air duct work that would fit into the tight existing space around the heater and ensure it could be easily installed during the short shutdown window.
XRG met all emissions, operational, efficiency and reliability goals for this VC Heater Revamp!
Fired heater in design stages
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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.