80 Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants

Table 10-12
Guide to Fouling Resistances

RGP-T2.4 Design Fouling Resistances (hr-ft2-°F/Btu)

The purchaser should attempt to select an optimal fouling resistance that will result in a minimum sum of fixed, shut-
down and cleaning costs. The following tabulated values of fouling resistances allow for oversizing the heat exchanger
so that it will meet performance requirements with reasonable intervals between shutdowns and cleaning. These values
do not recognize the time related behavior of fouling with regard to specific design and operational characteristics of
particular heat exchangers.
Fouling Resistances For Industrial Fluids Fouling Resistances for Natural Gas-Gasoline Processing Streams

Oils: Gases and Vapors:

Fuel oil !2 0.002 Natural gas 0.001—0.002
Fuel oil !6 0.005 Overhead products 0.001—0.002
Transformer oil 0.001
Liquids:
Engine lube oil 0.001
Lean oil 0.002
Quench oil 0.004
Rich oil 0.001—0.002
Gases and Vapors: Natural gasoline and liquefied petroleum gases 0.001—0.002
Manufactured gas 0.010
Fouling Resistances for Oil Refinery Streams
Engine exhaust gas 0.010
Steam (nonoil-bearing) 0.0005 Crude and Vacuum Unit Gases and Vapors:
Exhaust steam (oil-bearing) 0.0015—0.002 Atmospheric tower overhead vapors 0.001
Refrigerant vapors (oil-bearing) 0.002 Light Naphtha 0.001
Compressed air 0.001 Vacuum overhead vapors 0.002
Ammonia vapor 0.001
CO2 vapor 0.001 Crude and Vacuum Liquids:
Chlorine vapor 0.002 Crude oil
Coal flue gas 0.010 0 to 250°F 250 to 350°F
Natural gas flue gas 0.005 velocity ft/sec velocity ft/sec

Liquids: !2 2—4 "4 !2 2—4 "4

Molten heat transfer salts 0.0005
Refrigerant liquids 0.001 DRY 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.002
Hydraulic fluid 0.001 SALT* 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.004 0.004
Industrial organic heat transfer media 0.002 350 to 450°F 450°F and more
Ammonia liquid 0.001 velocity ft/sec velocity ft/sec
Ammonia liquid (oil-bearing) 0.003
Calcium chloride solutions 0.003 !2 2—4 "4 !2 2—4 "4
Sodium chloride solutions 0.003
DRY 0.004 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.004 0.004
CO2 liquid 0.001
SALT* 0.006 0.005 0.005 0.007 0.006 0.006
Chlorine liquid 0.002
Methanol solutions 0.002 *Assumes desalting @ approx. 250°F
Ethanol solutions 0.002
Ethylene glycol solutions 0.002 Gasoline 0.002
Naphtha and light distillates 0.002—0.003
Fouling Resistances for Chemical Processing Streams
Kerosene 0.002—0.003
Light gas oil 0.002—0.003
Gases and Vapors: Heavy gas oil 0.003—0.005
Acid gases 0.002—0.003 Heavy fuel oils 0.005—0.007
Solvent vapors 0.001
Stable overhead products 0.001 Asphalt and Residuum:
Vacuum tower bottoms 0.010
Liquids: Atmosphere tower bottoms 0.007
MEA and DEA solutions 0.002
DEG and TEG solutions 0.002 Cracking and Coking Unit Streams:
Stable side draw and bottom product 0.001—0.002 Overhead vapors 0.002
Caustic solutions 0.002 Light cycle oil 0.002—0.003
Vegetable oils 0.003 Heavy cycle oil 0.003—0.004
 Heat Transfer 81

Fouling Resistances for Oil Refinery Streams (Continued) Catalytic Hydro Desulfurizer:
Charge 0.004—0.005
Cracking and Coking Unit Streams (Continued) Effluent 0.002
Light coker gas oil 0.003—0.004 H.T. sep. overhead 0.002
Heavy coker gas oil 0.004—0.005 Stripper charge 0.003
Bottoms slurry oil (4.5 ft/sec min.) 0.003 Liquid products 0.002
Light liquid products 0.002 HF Alky Unit:
Catalytic Reforming, Hydrocracking, Alkylate, deprop. bottoms, main fract. 0.003
and Hydrodesulfurization Streams: overhead, main fract. feed
Reformer charge 0.0015 All other process streams 0.002
Reformer effluent 0.0015 Fouling Resistances for Water
Hydrocracker charge and effluent* 0.002
Recycle gas 0.001 Temperature of Up to 240°F 240 to 400°F
Hydrodesulfurization charge and effluent* 0.002 Heating Medium
Overhead vapors 0.001
Liquid product greater than 50°A.P.I. 0.001 Temperature of Water 125° More Than 125°
Liquid product 30—50°A.P.I. 0.002 Water Velocity Water Velocity
*Depending on charge, characteristics and storage history, charge Ft/Sec Ft/Sec
resistance may be many times this value.
3 and More 3 and More
Less Than 3 Less Than 3
Light Ends Processing Streams:
Overhead vapors and gases 0.001 Sea water 0.0005 0.0005 0.001 0.001
Liquid products 0.001 Brackish water 0.002 0.001 0.003 0.002
Absorption oils 0.002—0.003 Cooling tower
Alkylation trace acid streams 0.002 and artificial
Reboiler streams 0.002—0.003 spray pond:
Lube Oil Processing Streams: Treated makeup 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002
Feed stock 0.002 Untreated 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.004
Solvent feed mix 0.002 City or well water 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002
Solvent 0.001 River water:
Extract* 0.003 Minimum 0.002 0.001 0.003 0.002
Raffinate 0.001 Average 0.003 0.002 0.004 0.003
Asphalt 0.005 Muddy or silty 0.003 0.002 0.004 0.003
Wax slurries* 0.003 Hard (more than
Refined lube oil 0.001 15 grains/gal) 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.005
Engine jacket 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
*Precautions must be taken to prevent wax deposition on cold tube walls.
Distilled or closed
cycle
Visbreaker: Condensate 0.0005 0.0005 0.0005 0.0005
Overhead vapor 0.003 Treated boiler
Visbreaker bottoms 0.010 feedwater 0.001 0.0005 0.001 0.001
Naphtha Hydrotreater: Boiler blowdown 0.002 0.002 0.002 0.002
Feed 0.003 If the heating medium temperature is more than 400°F and the cooling
Effluent 0.002 medium is known to scale, these ratings should be modified accordingly.
Naphtha 0.002
Overhead vapors 0.0015

(Used by permission: Standards of Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association, Inc., Section 10, RGP T-2.32 and T-2.4, ©1988. Tubular Exchanger
Manufacturers Association, Inc.)

heat transfer surface using the factor that applies to the
appropriate material or fluid. As a rule, the fouling factors
are applied without correcting for the inside diameter to
outside diameter, because these differences are not known
to any great degree of accuracy.
For fouling resistances of significant magnitude, a correc-
tion is usually made to convert all values to the outside sur-
face of the tube; see Equation 10-37. Sometimes only one
factor is selected to represent both sides of the transfer foul-
ing films or scales.
82 Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants

Table 10-13
Suggested Fouling Factors in Petrochemical Processes
r " (hr) (ft2) (°F)/Btu

Temperature Range

Fouling Factor
Fluid Velocity, Ft/Sec !100°F "100°F

Waters:
Sea (limited to 125°F max.) !4 0.002 0.003
"7 0.0015 0.002
River (settled) !2 0.002 0.002—0.003
"4 0.0005—0.0015 0.001—0.0025
River (treated and settled) !2 0.0015 0.002
"4 0.001 0.0015
4 mils baked phenolic coating65 0.0005
15 mils vinyl-aluminum coating 0.001

Fouling Factor, hr-ft2-°F/Btu

Condensate (100°—300°F) !2 0.001 0.002—0.0004
"4 0.0005 0.001
Steam (saturated) oil free 0.0005—0.0015

}
with traces oil 0.001—0.002
Light hydrocarbon liquids
(methane, ethane, propane,
ethylene, propylene, butane-clean) 0.001
Light hydrocarbon vapors: (clean)
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
(carbon tetrachloride,
chloroform, ethylene dichloride,
etc.)
Liquid 0.001 0.002
Condensing 0.001 0.0015
Boiling 0.002 0.002
Refrigerants (vapor condensing
and liquid cooling)
Ammonia 0.001
Propylene 0.001
Chloro-fluoro-refrigerants 0.001 Figure 10-40A. Fouling factors as a function of temperature and
Caustic liquid, salt-free velocity. (Used by permission: W. L. Nelson, No. 94 in series, Oil and
20% (steel tube) 3—8 0.0005 Gas Journal. ©PennWell Publishing Company.)
50% (nickel tube) 6—9 0.001
73% (nickel tube) 6—9 0.001
Gases (industrially clean)
Air (atmos.) 0.0005—0.001 reasonable starting point. It is not wise to keep adjusting the
Air (compressed) 0.001 estimated (or other) fouling to achieve a specific overall
Flue gases 0.001—0.003 heat transfer coefficient, U, which is the next topic to be dis-
Nitrogen 0.0005
cussed.
Hydrogen 0.0005
Hydrogen (saturated with water) 0.002 Fouling generally can be kept to a minimum provided
Polymerizable vapors with inhibitor 0.003—0.03 that proper and consistent cleaning of the surface takes
High temperature cracking or place. Kern269 discusses fouling limits. Inside tubes may be
coking, polymer buildup 0.02—0.06 rodded, brushed, or chemically cleaned, and most outside
Salt brines
tube surfaces in a shell can be cleaned only by chemical or
(125°F max.) !2 0.003 0.004
"4 0.002 0.003 by hydraulic/corncob external cleaning or rodding/
Carbon dioxide93 brushing between tube lanes provided that the shell is
(sublimed at low temp.) 0.2—0.3 removable as in Figures 10-1A, 10-1B, 10-1D—F, 10-1I, and
10-1K.
Unless a manufacturer/fabricator is guaranteeing the per-
In the tables the representative or typical fouling resis- formance of an exchanger in a specific process service, they
tances are referenced to the surface of the exchanger on cannot and most likely will not accept responsibility for the
which the fouling occurs—that is, the inside or outside fouling effects on the heat transfer surface. Therefore, the
tubes. Unless specific plant/equipment data represents the owner must expect to specify a value to use in the thermal
fouling in question, the estimates in the listed tables are a design of the equipment. This value must be determined