EFFECT OF HOT FLUID VARIATION ON HEAT TRANSFER EFFECTIVENESS IN A HEAT EXCHANGER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35261/barometer.v11i2.13221Abstract
A heater is a type of heat exchanger used to increase the temperature of a process fluid by transferring heat from a heating medium. In an ammonia synthesis unit, an ammonia preheater heats liquid ammonia before it enters the reactor, ensuring the required operating conditions are met. This study evaluates the thermal performance of the EA-101 Ammonia Preheater under actual operating conditions, using hot water as the heating medium, and examines the potential improvements achievable by redesigning the system to use steam as the heating medium. The evaluation was carried out using a heat-transfer analysis based on energy balance, heat-transfer rate, heat-exchanger effectiveness, and fouling factor to compare the actual and redesigned conditions. The results show that, under actual operation with hot water, the heat exchanger effectiveness was 53%, with a fouling factor of 0.0097 hr·ft²·°F/Btu. In the redesigned steam-using condition, the effectiveness increased to 73%, while the fouling factor decreased slightly to 0.0091 hr·ft²·°F/Btu. The heat transfer rate also increased from 9,801,117.25 Btu/h to 19,923,137.10 Btu/h. The 20-percentage-point increase in effectiveness, together with the nearly twofold increase in heat transfer rate, indicates that steam provides a higher thermal driving force than hot water. Therefore, redesigning the ammonia preheater to use steam as the heating medium can improve the equipment’s thermal performance and help achieve the required process temperature in the ammonia synthesis unit.
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