16 PROCESS HEATING www.ipesearch.com
FEATURE
The case for modern electric
process heaters
Companies in the oil and gas industry are taking bold steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
The overall strategy to tackle carbon emissions relies on not only alternative energy
investment and increased efficiency but also converting key industrial processes to electric.
Volker Metzger explores the role of electric heating technologies in decarbonising industry
THOUGH THERE are still
passionate debates about
the scope and causes of
climate change,
governments and industry
leaders are taking huge steps to meet
climate-change goals, especially with
regard to decarbonisation. According to
the We Mean Business Coalition, more
than 700 companies, including many in
the oil and gas industry, have made far-reaching
climate commitments.
What is striking about the pressure to
address climate change is that it does
not come from one segment of the
population, or from one international
agreement. So, even if a driver for
change, such as the Paris Agreement,
were to disappear, there would still be
significant pressure to decarbonise, and
thus larger capital investments in
electrification and decarbonisation are
still completely justified.
The Paris Agreement
The event that caused many energy
companies to consider decarbonisation
strategies more seriously was the 2015
Paris Climate Conference, organised by
the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). This led to a broad
consensus about climate change and
what needed to be done to combat it.
The UNFCCC parties agreed that, to
avoid the most catastrophic effects of
climate change, the increase in global
average temperature would need to be
kept to less than two degrees Celsius
above pre-industrial levels. The
conference resulted in the ‘Paris
Agreement’, adopted by all UNFCCC
parties and the first legally binding
global climate agreement of its kind.
Electrification of industrial processes is
one of the key strategic pillars for
addressing climate-change concerns.
Many industries use gas-fired heaters,
but we’re seeing a gradual shift to large
electric heat-exchangers. One
challenge of this change is that electric
heaters need to be able to
accommodate the larger wattage and
amperage requirements of these
processes, which must be balanced
with another challenge – control.
Adequate control of the heater is
needed to ensure that processes can
be performed safely. There have been
many innovations and improvements
in electric heat-exchangers and electric
process heaters over the past decade,
such as enhanced fluid dynamics,
Continuous Helical Flow Technology™
and higher watt densities, which
contribute to a heater with a smaller
footprint, less fouling and greater safety.
Enhanced fluid dynamics heat-exchangers
are engineered for
advanced flow throughout the system,
without compromising the integrity of
the heating elements, media being
heated and vessel, which provides
significantly improved heat transfer
rates and consistent performance
across the vessel.
Some heat-exchanger designs have
dead zones, where hot spots can occur,
which exacerbates the coking process,
leading to fouling and the need for
further maintenance. Continuous
Helical Flow Technology offers ultra-high
heat-transfer rates with minimal
fluid bypass, eliminating these dead
zones and contributing to a smaller
footprint.
In addition, higher watt densities
incorporated into electric heat-exchangers
allow for designs that take
advantage of increased heat flux. This
can help make processes more efficient
and less costly, while still meeting
critical temperature requirements,
reducing overall footprint and providing
a safer operation.
When selecting an electric-heater
manufacturer in the process of
electrifying your processes, it’s crucial
to ensure the company can provide
safe and reliable heating solutions that
contribute to a greener footprint. With
more than a century of experience
developing, testing and validating
electric heat-exchanger designs,
Watlow’s HELIMAX heat-exchanger
uses these innovations to improve
performance and heater life, and
minimise carbon footprint, allowing for
reduced maintenance intervals, leading
to increased productivity.
Although progress is being made
towards decarbonising energy
processing, there is still a long way to
go. Switching to electric heat-exchangers
with advanced fluid
dynamics, Continuous Helical Flow
Technology and higher watt densities
can aid the journey of electrification
and decarbonisation much more
efficiently.
Volker Metzger is applied thermal
expert for Europe at Watlow
For more information:
www.watlow.com
Tel: 0115 964 0777
Enhanced fluid
dynamics heat-exchangers
are
engineered for
advanced flow
throughout the
system
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