Heat Exchangers to handle Amine 2

[PAA182]

I have an application in which a heat exchanger is to be used in cooling amine on the hot side with water on the cold side and would like to know if anyone has field experience to indicate which type of heat exchanger, flat-plate OR tube-and-shell, seems to have more advantage over the other in terms of reliability.

 

[SNORGY]

I have seen both. Is the amine rich or lean? Presumably lean if on the hot side, I suspect.

These are my opinions.

Two things will probably tend to govern in the design of the plate type unit: (1) pressure and (2) chemical compatibility of the elastomer. Judging by the number of successful amine plants I have seen in sour gas processing that use a plate heat exchanger, I think the elastomer is easy enough to deal with. So, if you are running at say 500 psi or less, the plate exchanger might be better for you. I'm also tending to think that cleaning or changing a plate pack (assuming you are carrying the warehouse spares for it) has got to be easier than rodding tubes or pulling bundles no matter how many ways you look at it.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[rmw]

Like Snorgy, I have seen many and I would say mostly P&F's in amine service. There are tried and true gaskets for that service.

Regarding cleaning the plates and regasketing when it is time whether snap in or glued (I am old fashioned - I prefer glued) use a professional service.

Doing them in your own shop is tedious and boring work and it usually gets relegated to "Bubba." (Who would want to put "top mechanic" on plate cleaning and gluing?) Ironically, it is a job that needs attention and craftsmanship, more suited to the capabilities of "top mechanic" than "Bubba" but alas, Bubba gets the nod.

The plate cleaning and regasketing job suffers (I am sure Bubba does his best, but....) and then the P&F gets the blame that they are "leakers." I wonder why.

With the professional firms, that is their day job and every on there (in theory) is a "top mechanic" at that work.

rmw

 

[UBbaja]

First off, for the record I used to work for a HX manufacturer.......

I agree too, P&F is the way to go. It has been a few years since I was involved heavily with HTX's, but if the vendor recommends a glueless option, I highly recommend the glueless option. Some of the older P&F gasket attachment designs were poor and difficult to use. The new designs are much easier, so much so that it doesn't take a great deal of skill to attach them, much easier than glue.. I would talk to the vendor about their design. You do of course have to keep track of the direction of the plates still, so perhaps as they say above, you should employ a competent individual to accomplish this project. Be careful if you go with a HX overhaul house. While these places may seem cheaper at first, they can be a pain to deal with. Their gaskets many times are designs that have been copied/pirated from the OEMs, and are of secondary quality.