Author: Lines, Jim
Description: Steam-surface condensers are used throughout the refining, petrochemical and chemical industries. The two principal applications are:
(1) Mechanical drive turbine exhaust, where the turbine is powering a compressor, blower or pump, (2) Turbine-generator set for electrical power production.
Author: Lines, Jim
Description: Jim Lines, Graham Corp., USA, outlines how a solid understanding of best practices for specifying, procuring, and operating steam surface condensers, as well as good maintenance and performance evaluation practices, can help fertilizer plants to achieve their operating objectives.
Author: Lines, Jim
Description: Environmental stewardship is becoming a priority for chemical plants as investors, corporate boards, government agencies and the public are demanding more accountability. For chemical processing plants, the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from storage tanks is an area that often gets overlooked but is equally important to other sustainability targets, such as production processes, when it comes to meeting environmental, social and governance goals.
Author: Johnson, Alicia
Description: Alicia Johnson, Graham Corporation, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of traditional straight tube designs vs coiled tube designs in both condensers and heat exchangers.
Author: Kubik, Bill
Description: Saving energy and reducing a plant's carbon footprint is vitally important in today's world. One of a plant's greatest energy users can be its steam-driven turbines. Steam turbines have excellent reliability and durability and are used to drive pumps, compressors, generators, and other rotating mechanical equipment throughout the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries for processes that produce petroleum products, chemicals, fertilizers, electric power, and other products that are used every day by people around the world.
Author: Kubik, Bill
Description: Fertilizer plants commonly use steam turbines to drive process air compressors, synthesis gas compressors, refrigerant compressors, electric generators and other mechanical devices. The cost of producing steam to operate the plant's turbines is significant. Any adjustments in operation that can improve turbine performance will lead to reduced energy consumption and cost. Unfortunately, the equipment that is used to support the turbine is often overlooked. This article will explore the important relationship between operation of the steam surface condenser and its venting ejectors, and how their performance directly affects the fuel costs associated with operating a steam turbine.
Author: Johnson, Alicia
Description: Steam Surface Condensers are critical equipment in a fertilizer plant, and can directly impact plant throughput and product quality. This article reviews key design decisions that affect capital cost and outlines operating variables that can negatively impact performance reliability.
Description: Sizing of steam surface condensers based on turbine steam flow which includes steam inlet velocity, cooling water flow and pressure drop, air leakage for design, fouling factors to use, ASME, HEI, and TEMA design codes, gas removal system design and space limitations for the condenser size.
