insulated with light castable or ceramic fiber, and the combus- • Heating sensitive fluids or gases where close

ases where close bulk-to-film

tion and heat exchange sections are separated by an insulated temperatures are critical
wall. The fuel gas and all of the combustion air are fed to the • Combined waste-heat recovery with supplementary
short-flame, pre-mix burners. The combustion gases mix rap- burners
idly with recycled stack gases to produce the inlet gas to the • Steam Generation
heat exchange section. This gas at 1200-1500°F flows under
the dividing wall and then upward across the finned tubes of FIRETUBE HEATERS
the process coil. Part of the cooled gas at 350-500°F leaves as
stack gas and the remainder is recycled. The flow in the proc- Firetube heaters range in duty from 60 MBtu/hr glycol re-
ess coil is downward and counter-current to the hot gases. boilers to 12 MMBtu/hr oil or gas pipeline heaters. The design,
controls, and operation of firetube heaters vary widely from
Recycling some of the stack gas controls the inlet gas tem- those used in simple, unattended “wellhead” equipment to
perature to the heat exchange section, and in turn the maxi- those used in complex, well-instrumented, gas plants.
mum film temperature of the process stream. The combined
Water Bath Heaters
volume of the combustion and recycled gases is much greater
than that in most direct fired heaters. This results in higher Fig. 8-32 is a sketch of an indirect fired water bath heater.
This design is typical of all indirect fired vessels. The firetube
gas velocities, higher external heat transfer coefficients, and
is in the bath in the lower half of the vessel and the process
a smaller process coil surface area. The thermal efficiency is coil is in the upper half of the vessel. The heat transfer me-
high because pre-mix burners operate satisfactorily at 10% dium, in this case water, fills the vessel. A fill hatch, drain,
excess air and the stack gas temperature can be as low as wells for thermostats, and a coil to preheat the fuel are stand-
100°F above the inlet process stream temperature. The price ard. Sizes range from 2 ft OD by 5 ft long to 12 ft OD by 30 ft
paid for this is the electricity to run the recirculation fan; this long. Only one firetube is needed below 5 MMBtu/hr.
is usually more than offset by the fuel saving. Some small heaters are uninsulated. More frequently 1 to
2 in. of weatherproof ceramic fiber or light castable insulation
Convection heater applications include:
is placed around the cylindrical shell. The ends are left bare
• Heating regeneration gas in adsorption processes so as not to impede access to the coil, burner, or stack. As shown
• Vaporizing and superheating LNG and LPG in Example 8-7, insulation can reduce heat losses up to 75%.
• Preheating or post-heating gas, in pressure reduction A long lazy yellow flame increases the fire tube life and in-
• Heating heat transfer fluids creases the radiant flame area.

FIG. 8-31
Convection Heater

8-28
 FIG. 8-32
Indirect Fired Water Bath Heater

Almost every coil bundle requires a unique design to meet the process stream pressure drop is significant. Because the
the requirements of heat duty, working pressure, corrosion al- pressure drop for turbulent flow is proportional to the 1.83
lowance, sour gas service, NACE MR-01-75, and governing power of the velocity and the pipe length per pass has been
codes, usually ASME Section VII or ANSI B31.3. Use of a P-H halved, the two flow path pressure drop approaches one sev-
diagram will simplify calculations when both sensible and la- enth of that for one pass.
tent heat changes occur in the process stream.
In many wellhead applications the coil contains a choke that
Example 8-11 — What heat duty is required to vaporize throttles the gas from well pressure to processing or pipeline
50 gpm of liquid propane at 60°F and 235 psig and superheat pressure. This divides the coil into preheat and postheat
the vapor by 20°F? passes. The rapid expansion is isenthalpic and, if the gas tem-
Solution Steps perature falls too low, hydrates form.
Refer to Section 24 “Thermodynamics” and the P-H diagram Example 8-12 — Find the optimum distribution between pre-
for propane. At 60°F and 249.7 psia the enthalpy of propane heat and postheat duty for expanding methane from 3000 psia
is 287 Btu/lb. The exit enthalpy at 142°F (20°F above the dew and 80°F to 1000 psia and 100°F.
point) and 249.7 psia is 462 Btu/lb. The liquid density is
Solution Steps
31.7 lb/ cu ft and this corresponds to 4.24 lb/gal.
ql = 50 gpm Refer to Fig. 8-33 which is a P-H diagram for CH4 on which
the line AGB for hydrate formation is superimposed. (This is
M = (50) (4.24) (60) = 12720 lb/hr a combination of Figures 20-19 and 24-23.) Consider the fol-
lowing three alternative paths.
UHT = M (H2 − H1)
Path CDE expands the gas immediately and then heats it.
= (12720) (462 − 287) = 2.23 MMBtu /hr This results in the smallest coil area because the largest log
Usually long radius return bends connect the passes in the mean temperature difference between the water bath and the
serpentine coil; however, short radius return bends sometimes methane is available. But the expansion crosses the hydrate
“fit” the coil bundle into the shell. The heat duty and pressure line and the gas will freeze.
drop determine the pipe diameter and the number of parallel Path CHE supplies all the heat needed and then expands
flow paths and passes in the process coil. Often the internal the gas. This is feasible, but not desirable because the lowest
process stream heat transfer coefficient is much larger than temperature difference requires the largest coil area.
the external water bath coefficient, e.g., Example 8-4. Two par-
allel flow paths of four passes may be an alternative heat Path CFGE first heats the methane so that the expansion
transfer design to one flow path of eight passes. The effect on just touches the hydrate line, expands it, and heats to the exit

8-29
temperature. This is the minimum coil area that corresponds Low Pressure Steam Heaters
to an operable path. So:
When a process stream temperature of 160 to 220°F is
Preheat duty: (476 – 448) = 28 Btu/lb CH4
needed, a 15 psig steam heater can be used to reduce the re-
Postheat duty: (510 – 476) = 34 Btu/lb quired size of the tube bundle. Construction, shown in
Fig. 8-35, is under ASME Section IV code. Steam outlet and
In practice, some penetration of the hydrate line is possible; condensate return connections are standard so that the steam
and the balance between “preheat” and “postheat” passes is
may be used in external exchangers if desired. The condensing
such that the lowest temperature is 10 to 15°F below the hy-
drate line. steam has an external process coil heat transfer coefficient of
800-1200 Btu/(hr • sq ft • °F). It is important to vent all air at
Freezing of the water bath is a potential problem. If the start-up. With insulation and controls, the NTE can be as
heater is insulated, a continuous pilot suffices. Several differ- much as 80%, which is close to the efficiency for a firetube.
ent antifreeze additives have been tried and all have short-
comings: Low pressure steam heater applications include:

• Methyl alcohol is volatile and has to be replenished. It is • Low pressure steam generators (without process coil)
also a fire hazard.
FIG. 8-33
• Calcium chloride and rock salt in concentrations that are
effective are very corrosive. Methane Pressure-Enthalpy Diagram
• Glycols are generally accepted as the safest and most
trouble-free additive. The decomposition products are
acidic; it is recommended that corrosion and rust inhibi-
tors be used concurrently.
Glycols reduce the heat transfer coefficient of the bath sig-
nificantly. For example, a 50% by weight solution of ethylene
glycol reduces the firetube flux by 20% and the external bath
heat transfer coefficient for the process coil by 40%. (See Fig.
8-34)

Fig. 8-34 compares the bath properties of fire tube heaters.

The advantage of using water as the heat transfer medium is
apparent. The relatively low bath temperature results in the
lowest stack temperature and the highest firetube efficiency.
Note that the firetube efficiency does not account for heat
losses. For large well insulated heaters the overall process
NTE may exceed 80%. But for small uninsulated heaters with
intermittent operation the process NTE may be as low as 60%.
Water bath heater applications include:
• Heating high pressure gas and/or oil in oilfield produc-
tion
• Heating natural gas at city gate stations from main gas
pipelines
• Heating light hydrocarbon liquids to superheated state
for alternate or standby fuel sources

FIG. 8-34
Bath Properties of Fire Tube Heaters

Outside Coil Firetube Flux Firetube

Bath Temp. Stack Temp.
Heater Bundle ho Q/A Efficiency
°F °F
Btu/(hr • sq ft • °F) Btu/(hr • sq ft) NTE %
Water Bath 180-195 160 10,000 - 13,000 750 - 900 76-82
50 % Ethylene Glycol 195-205 115 8,000 - 10,000 800 - 900 76-80
Low Pressure Steam 245-250 1000 15,000 - 18,000 800 - 900 76-80
Hot Oil 300-550 40 6,000 - 8,000 900 - 1100 71-76
Molten Salt 400-800 200 15,000 - 18,000 1000 - 1200 68-74
TEG Reboiler 350-400 – 6,000 - 8,000 800 75-80
Amine Reboiler 245-270 – 6,500 - 10,000 900 75-80

8-30
 FIG. 8-35
15 psig Steam Bath Heater

• Maintaining flow temperatures for heavy hydrocarbons Molten Salt Heaters

in storage
Molten salt baths operate at 400° to 800°F. They are mix-
Hot Oil Heaters tures of sodium nitrate and the nitrites of sodium and potas-
sium. The advantages include:
These heaters furnish a heating bath to 600°F or higher,
which is hot enough for dry desiccant or hydrocarbon recovery • Good heat transfer properties, see Fig. 8-34. The firetube
regeneration gas. Another less severe application is heavier flux is as high as that for a low pressure steam heater.
hydrocarbon vaporization prior to injection into a gas pipeline Note the process coil heat transfer coefficient of
to raise the heating value. 200 Btu/(hr • sq ft • °F) is partially due to the small di-
ameter tubes that usually comprise the coil bundle.
Manufactured heat transfer oils are “blended” for about a
200°F operating range. For example, Fig. 8-36 gives typical • Thermally stable to 1000°F.
heat transfer properties for a 300° to 550°F polyphenyl ether. • The salt will not ignite.
The advantages of hot oils are: The disadvantages are:
• Low vapor pressure at ambient temperature • More difficult to handle, large lumps must be broken up.
• Always liquid and easy to handle • The salt is hygroscopic. If wet, it decrepitates on melting
• Blended for a specific temperature range and is hazardous.
• Higher specific heat than normally occurring hydrocar- Because of the higher operating temperature there are no
bons flange joints on the shell except for the salt loading hatch, see
Fig. 8-37. On large heaters the expansion of the firetube may
The disadvantages include:
be sufficient to warrant an expansion joint for the stack. The
• Escaping vapors are environmentally undesirable shell is insulated to protect personnel.
• Low heat transfer properties, see Fig. 8-34. (The firetube One of the requirements for heating regeneration gas is a
flux is half that of a water bath heater and the external very low pressure drop across the coil bundle. To realize this
process coil heat transfer coefficient is about one quar- and still obtain good heat transfer, the coil bundle consists of
ter.) many, small diameter, U-tubes in parallel. These are welded
• Usually an ANSI Class 300 flange design is required into a tube sheet that is attached to a channel header. To re-
• When overheated, the oils will oxidize and coke on the duce thermal stresses caused by the cold inlet gas, the inlet
firetube. Also, they can be ignited half of the tube sheet is insulated.
• Ethers are expensive Molten salt heater applications include:
• The ethers are hygroscopic and must be kept dry • Regeneration gas service

8-31
 • Vaporization of hydrocarbon liquids in stabilization serv- drop of the combustion gas flow and admits the secondary air.
ice The stack height is 10 to 20 ft.
Direct Fired Reboilers An alternative to the burner front shown in the equipment
sketches is a flame arrestor, the element of which provides
Gas treating and dehydration frequently employ direct fired many small tortuous paths between rolled sheets of thin cor-
reboilers. More detailed process descriptions are given in Sec- rugated aluminum. Sucking the combustion air through the
tions 20 and 21. Fig. 8-38 is a sketch of a typical direct fired element is an additional pressure drop for the stack draft to
reboiler. The rich fluid containing the sour gas or water is overcome. The term arrestor is somewhat of a misnomer be-
boiled in the reboiler to remove the sour gas or the water. The cause any fire in the firetube or around the burner is contained
lean fluid then is used to treat or dehydrate the process gas rather than extinguished. The passage through the arrestor
stream again. Surge tanks for the lean fluid may be integral cools the gas so that external combustion does not occur.
with the reboiler as shown, or may be mounted as a separate
vessel beneath the reboiler. Controls
Firetubes, Burners, Stacks Fig. 8-39 shows an example control system for an indirect
fired heater. Fig. 8-40 lists the shutdown/alarms as shown
Firetubes typically range from 6 to 30 in. ID and from 5 to with some comments about the proper installation and use of
30 ft long. Normally the burner flame extends halfway down these particular devices. The control system as depicted by
the first leg. A mitered joint return bend is used to reduce the these figures should not be considered complete but only
resistance to flow of the combustion gases. representative of the conditions to be carefully considered in
Example 8-13 — What is the firetube flux when the combus- designing a control system for fired equipment. The controls
tion gases are at 2800°F and the firetube wall is at 300°F. probably vary more than the design of the heater. For example,
Assume that the fuel is natural gas and the heat release is a wellhead line heater or glycol dehydrator may have no more
4 MMBtu/hr with 20% excess air in a 2 ft ID pipe. than an on-off thermostat for the main burner and a small
continuous pilot. A line heater, hydrocarbon vaporizer, or
Solution Steps amine reboiler may have all of the controls listed in Fig. 8-40.
Refer to example 8-6. The radiant heat flux is 16,990
Btu/(hr • sq ft). The convective heat flux must be added. Troubleshooting
r = 970 lb flue gas/MMBtu heat release (Fig. 8-24) The following problems can occur with firetube heaters.
Combustion gas flow is 4 (970) = 3880 lb/hr • Bath level loss can be the result of too high a bath tem-
perature. This is often caused by the temperature con-
From Eq 8-7, 8-8b and 8-9a and Fig. 8-5 troller on the process stream. Fouling of the process coil,
0.8 0.33 0.14 internal and/or external, means a hotter bath is needed
Nu = 0.023 • Re • Pr • (µb/µw)
to accomplish the same heat transfer. The coil should be
k = 0.038 Btu/[hr • sq ft • °F/ft] at average T = 1550°F removed and cleaned.
If fouling of the coils is not the problem, water losses can be
Cp = 0.248 Btu/(lb • °F) reduced with a vapor recovery exchanger mounted on top of
µb = 0.045 cp the heater shell. It consists of thin tubes that condense the
water vapor. Vapor losses can also be reduced by altering the
µw = 0.023 cp composition of the heat medium or, in drastic cases, by chang-
0.8 0.33 0.14 ing the heat medium.
h • 2.0  0.5263 (3880)   2.419 • 0.248 • 0.045  0.045
= 0.023      0.023 • Shell side corrosion is caused by decomposition of the
0.038  2 (0.045)   0.038    bath. (The decomposition products of amines and glycols
0.038 (0.023) are corrosive.) Some decomposition and corrosion is in-
h = • (3052.5)(0.8933 )(1.0985) evitable; however, excessive decomposition is usually due
2.0
to overheating near the firetube. Corrosion inhibitors are
h = 1.31 Btu /(hr • sq ft • °F) commonly added. There are numerous reasons for over-
heating the bath: localized ineffective heat transfer
Q/Ac = 1.31(2800 – 300) = 3,275 Btu/ (hr • sq ft) caused by fouling, excessive flame impingement, etc. An
improper flame can sometimes be modified without sys-
Total heat flux = 16,990 + 3,275 = 20,265 Btu/(hr•sq ft)
tem shutdown. Fouling, however, requires removal of the
This is a maximum firetube flux and is typical only for water firetube.
bath or low pressure steam heaters.
• Inadequate heat transfer may result from improper
Even though firetube failure is rare, it is advisable to pre- flame, under-firing, firetube fouling, coil fouling, poor
vent movement or flexing with restraining bars. This prevents shell fluid dynamics, too small a firetube or coil, etc. If it
weakening of the weld joints at the end plate. In addition, is not improper design, then it is most likely fouling or
when the fuel is oil, include a drain with plug in the bottom of an improper flame. The solution may be a simple burner
the firetube leg between the end plate and the burner flange. adjustment to correct the air to fuel mixture.
Then the firetube can be drained if any oil accidentally gets • High stack temperature can be the result of an im-
past the burner. proper air to fuel mixture. A leak of combustible material
Inspirating partial pre-mix burners are used in the vast ma- from the process side to the firetube is also a cause. It can
jority of firetube heaters. The gas is preheated before expan- also be the result of excessive soot deposition in the fire-
sion, flow control, and flow through the burner. While the tube.
burner draws the primary air into the firetube, it is the stack • Firetube failure is most commonly caused by localized
draft, usually less than 1 in. H2O, that overcomes the pressure overheating and subsequent metallurgical failure. These

8-32
 FIG. 8-36
Typical Physical Properties of Hot Oil

FIG. 8-37
Salt Bath Heater

Stack

Section "A" -"A" Section "B" - "B"

Tubesheet Detail Fill Conn.
Outlet Expansion
Joint
Tube
Bundle Thermostat
Conn.
Burner
Front
Inlet

Insulation Drain

8-33
 FIG. 8-38
Amine Reboiler

Stack
Press. Press.
Gauge Conn. Conn.
Vapor
Outlet Relief
Fill Valve Conn.
Weir Conn. LLSD

LLC Water Level Gauge Glass Conn.

Burner
Firetube Front
Lean
Amine
Outlet Removable
Drain Firetube
Rich Amine
Inlet

“hot spots” are caused by hydrocarbon coking and depo- crease turbulence. Often additional equipment, e.g., a pump to
sition on the bath side. Firetube corrosion is caused by circulate the bath through the economizer or an actuator to
burning acid gases for fuel. The most damaging corrosion position the damper, is needed.
occurs in the burner assembly. There is little that can be
done except to change the fuel and this may be imprac- With good control of the excess air, i.e., 5% to 10% and a stack
tical. Proper metallurgy is essential when burning acid temperature of 400°F, the NTE approaches 90%. However, the
gases. pressure drop across the firetube increases and the stack draft
decreases. This means that a forced draft burner may be re-
• High or low fuel gas pressure can have a dramatic quired. The economics are usually favorable and short payout
effect on the operation of a firetube heater. Burners are periods for these modifications are common.
typically rated as heat output at a specified fuel pressure.
A significantly lower pressure means inadequate heat Hot Oil System
release. Significantly higher pressure causes over-firing
and overheating. The most common causes of a fuel gas A simplified schematic of the major components of a hot oil
pressure problem are the failure of a pressure regulator system is given in Fig. 8-42. The heat transfer medium is
or an unacceptably low supply pressure. pumped through a fired heater to the heat exchangers and
returns to the pump suction surge vessel. In some cases a fired
Improved Thermal Efficiency heater is replaced by a waste heat source, such as the exhaust
Economic incentives have promoted the development of de- stack of a fired turbine. The slip-stream (typically less than
vices to improve the thermal efficiency, i.e., reduce the excess 5%) filter is optional but it will help to retain the performance
air and the stack temperature. characteristics of the heat medium.

Control of the flow of air into the firetube or the gas flow in Proper design of the heater is critical for satisfactory opera-
the stack with dampers is sensitive because the relatively tion. The heat transfer fluid must have sufficient velocity, gen-
weak stack draft is easily influenced by an additional pressure erally 4 to 10 ft/sec, to avoid excessive film temperatures on
drop. Several designs are available: axially rotating vanes the heater tubes. Hot spots can lead to tube failure and fluid
around the burner, a pivoting horseshoe around the burner, a degradation. Design and capacity of a heater should be limited
hinged plate over the air inlet duct, a rotating plate in the so that the maximum film temperature does not exceed the
stack, etc. maximum recommended operating temperature of the fluid.
Methods to increase firetube heat transfer are shown in The surge vessel is provided with blanket gas and vent con-
Fig. 8-41. An economizer (end view) consisting of longitudi- nections. Expansion room for the hot oil from ambient to op-
nally finned tubes inserted into the return leg of the firetube erating conditions must be provided. On small systems the
adds heat transfer surface; a turbulator increases the heat surge tank may be sized to hold all of the heat medium. Two
transfer coefficient; and internal fins both add area and in- piping arrangements are used for the surge vessel; flow

8-34