Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TRADEMARK OWNERS
BY-CAST QUALITY
The recuperative cast iron air-preheater for boilers, incinerators and fired heaters
A 5-pass DEKA Airpreheater serving the primary reformer on a 950 tons/day ammonia plant. Fluegas flow is vertically upward with air in cross/counter. Heat transfer surface all cast iron tubes.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
he DEKA trademark is owned by BY-CAST N.V. and the air preheaters are manufactured in the BY-CAST plant at Tessenderlo, Belgium. The plant includes a foundry, devoted to casting the special finned heat transfer surface, plus steel fabrication and assembly shops. The BY-CAST design and engineering office is also located at the same site. BY-CAST was awarded ISO-9001 certification since 1993/94. he design was developed specifically to give trouble-free operation when handling dust-laden or potentially corrosive fluegas. Heat transfer surface comprises banks of horizontal cast iron tubes , (sometimes referred to as elements), usually stacked one above another with fluegas flowing vertically downward, outside tubes. Air flows inside the tubes in cross/counterflow and the tube banks are separated to give a multipass arrangement. In cases where the fuel contains a significant amount of sulphur the first air pass, i.e. the cold end of the air preheater, is constructed with borosilicate glass tubes supported and sealed in PTFE tubesheets. This surface is completely resistant to corrosion by acidic condensation. The cold incoming air is heated in this bank before entering the cast iron banks thus protecting the cast iron tubes from condensation and attack.
T T T
he DEKA air preheater is a static recuperative heat exchanger principally designed to recover heat from combustion processes by preheating the air supply to burners.
Following are some of the key industries in which DEKA air preheaters have been repeatedly installed for more than 60 years ; Fossil-fuelled power generation Oil refining Gas processing Fertiliser manufacture Steel and non-ferrous material manufacture Petrochemicals
The air preheater is usually designed to operate with a new fired heater, boiler or incinerator. BY-CAST also frequently supplies a DEKA unit for retro-fitting to existing plant. The flexible BY-CAST design programmes and modular construction of the air preheater will always provide a suitable solution for these retro-fits.
C A S T
I R O N
T U B E S
LEAK-TIGHT CONSTRUCTION CERAMIC SEAL BETWEEN TUBES EACH CAST IRON TUBE IS SEPARATELY AIR PRESSURE TESTED METAL ANALYSIS BY AN INDEPENDENT LABORATORY
Many DEKA units are still in service after decades of operation with minimum maintenance.
The cast iron tubes are produced in the BY-CAST foundry under strict quality control. Tubes are cast in a range of standard lenghts from 894 to 3288mm. Standard wall thickness is 5 mm but may be increased for special applications. Material of construction normally grey unalloyed iron but for gas temperatures above 800 deg C and wall temperature below 450 deg C chromium-alloyed iron is used. The seal between adjacent tubes is formed by a continuous ceramic fibre rope retained in a groove around the edges of the rectangular end flanges. This rope absorbs any small differential expansion between successive tube rows and maintains a completely gas-tight seal between the fluegas and air circuits.
THE DEKA AIR PREHEATER HAS NO MOVING PARTS OR WEARING SURFACES. NO MEASURABLE LEAKAGE FROM AIR TO FLUEGAS GIVING SAFE & EFFICIENT OPERATION WITH MINIMUM MAINTENANCE.
CAST IRON TUBE TYPE HT tube finned outside and inside. Maximum heat transfer surface. LT tube finned outside and ribbed inside to increase metal temperature. LTL tube finned outside smooth inside to give higher metal temperature when approaching dewpoint. In-line arrangement of vertical fins on outside (fluegas) surface. Entire surface is swept by gas flow. No on-line cleaning required.
S AV I N G R E D U C I N G
F U E L C O S T & E N V I R O N M E N TA L P O L L U T I O N
A 4-pass DEKA air preheater being retro-fitted to the main atmospheric crude furnace in a large oil refinery. This air preheater saves the equivalent of 8000 tons/year fuel oil thus reducing the quantity of CO2 and SO2 discharged into the atmosphere. The DEKA unit was delivered to site in 5 preassembled modules 4 with cast iron tubes plus one with glass tubes. A smaller 2-pass DEKA air preheater installed some years earlier can be seen on page 11 right-hand side.
6
P H Y S I C A L O F
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S C A S T I R O N
Cast iron exists as a metal matrix containing a proportion of free (uncombined) carbon. The matrix normally has a perlitic structure giving the material similar mechanical characteristics to steel containing +/- 0,9 % carbon. The free carbon is present in the form of very thin plates or lamellae. This free carbon is inert to most compounds which attack metals. The structure and composition outlined above give cast iron the following properties ; 1. Cast iron has an elasticity comparable with spring steel. Piston sealing rings in gasoline and diesel engines are normally made of cast iron. The elasticity is stable against time and is retained up to relatively high temperatures. Cast iron has no permanent deformation i.e. the material will crack if its elastic limit is exceeded (steel would retain a permanent deformation). Cast iron has excellent resistance to corrosion over a wide range of operating environments. Initially the surface will slightly rust but the rusting is then practically arrested at the carbon lamellae. The corrosion resistance of cast iron is much better than that of steel, including most stainless steels. Stoves and fire grates if made from carbon steel would be burned out in a fraction of the lifetime of cast iron. Uncoated cast iron pipelines for drinking water supply have an almost indefinite life. There are many other examples of the durability of cast iron in the chemical and process industries. The resistance of cast iron to erosion is well-known. In pneumatic handling and drying systems for abrasive powders cast iron liners are frequently fitted inside ducts to protect the steel duct from excessive wear.
2. 3.
4.
5.
In light of these properties it must be anticipated that an air preheater with cast iron elements will have a much longer service life than one with steel elements operating under identical conditions, even if the cast iron and steel elements were initially of equal thickness.
B Y - C A S T A N D K Y O T O C O 2 TA R G E T S
By-Cast manufactures fuel-saving equipment for bulk consumers of fossil fuels. A By-Cast airpreheater typically reduces fuel consumption in boilers and fired heaters from 10 to 25 % by recovering and recycling heat from the exhaust gas. The airpreheater can be used with all types of fuel including coal, gas, wood and oil. Major oil refineries and chemical plants around the world use the unique By-Cast equipment. Production of the airpreheater is centred at the By-Cast plant in Tessenderlo. The facilities include design, engineering and casting of the special cast iron heat transfer elements. The elements are assembled at the plant into transportable modules, up to 60 tons in weight. These modules are then shipped to the ultimate destination anywhere in the world. On arrival at site the modules are simply assembled together to form the complete airpreheater. By-Casts average annual production of airpreheaters results in a worldwide saving equivalent to some 247,000 tons of fuel oil. This corresponds to a reduction in emission to the atmosphere of 773,000 tons of CO2. The average life of a By-Cast airpreheater is 15 years. This means that the cumulative annual saving worldwide amounts to 3.7 million tons of fuel oil equivalent sufficient to provide heating for 1.6 million families in Western Europe. This annual saving in fuel consumption also corresponds to a reduction in CO2 emission of 11.5 million tons per year. We are proud to be making this contribution to the preservation of the global environment.
BTW - VAT BE 429.268.451 BANKS : FORTIS IBAN BE11-2350 4731 0548 DEXIA IBAN BE86-5513 3297 0050 ING IBAN BE46 3350 4311 5536
8
G L A S S T U B E S O R S T E A M A I R P R E H E AT I N G ?
In the design of any fluegas-to-airpreheater (APH) it is essential that the metal surfaces in contact with the flue gas are maintained above the dewpoint temperature to avoid acidic condensation and corrosion. For security the temperature is best kept at least 10C above the dewpoint. In some cases this means that before the cold ambient air enters the metal sections of the APH it must be first be warmed up. There are two solutions : First solution : The incoming air is first passed through a bank of borosilicate glass tubes over which flows the fluegas leaving the metal sections. The air is thus warmed up and can than be safely passed into the metal sections. The glass tubes are impervious to corrosion and the fluegas can therefore be cooled to a lower temperature in this bank. This solution allows maximum recovery of heat from the fluegas and is the most economical one. The size and cost of the metal APH are reduced since +/- 25% of the available fluegas heat is recovered in the glass-tubes section. Second solution : The incoming air is warmed up in an external steam-to-air heat exchanger and is then fed directly into the metal APH. The steam heat is supplied from a outside source. This solution requires a bigger metal APH because the temperature difference (LMTD) between fluegas and air is lower. The APH is consequently more expensive and requires a higher pressure drop on the air side. By-Cast is always willing to examine the relative merits of each system and to offer the most suitable solution.
BTW - VAT BE 0 429.268.451 BANKS : FORTIS IBAN BE11-2350 4731 0548 DEXIA IBAN BE86-5513 3297 0050 ING IBAN BE46 3350 4311 5536
10
G L A S S
T U B E S
BY-CAST uses special borosilicate glass tubes in corrosion proof heat exchanger sections.
P T F E L I N E D T U B E S H E E T S
G L A S S
T U B E D
B A N K S
Special lining material for Equipment operating at flue gas dewpoint temperatures.
L E A D
L I N E D
PA N E L S
11
R E S E A R C H
BY-CAST NV FLANDERS
12
P R E A S S E M B L E D D E K A M O D U L E B E I N G E R E C T E D O N S I T E
EXTERNAL LOADS FROM FLUE GAS AND AIR DUCTING ARE CARRIED DIRECTLY ON THE ROBUST DEKA AIR PREHEATER FRAME
13
14
HIGH EFFICIENCY FURNACE in a Californian Refinery Lower emission Preheated air in a DEKA Airpreheater 4.7MW
15
3 EDC Pyrolysis Furnaces. These are equipped with a P3 high efficiency cast iron airpreheater of 6,45 MW
16
17
18
B Y- C A S T N V F L A N D E R S
Europe 23,3%
Asia 57,0%
19
A Larsby Company KANAALWEG 77 B-3980 TESSENDERLO FLANDERS - BELGIUM TEL. (32) 13.662651 FAX. (32) 13.667353 E-MAIL : airpreheaters@by-cast.com URL : http://www.by-cast.com
20