The first full scale EMbaffle® application is successfully operating in a crude preheat unit at a complex refinery in Europe.

In early 2004, a conventional shell and tube segmental heat exchanger at the crude distillation plant was replaced with a EMbaffle® heat exchanger bundle. By using an inner (dummy) shell, a two-pass bundle was installed without changing the piping - an effective, low-cost replacement option. Tube side flow direction was changed by the special head design.

The performance of the conventional shell and tube segmental heat exchangers had been monitored for three years and performance monitoring was also implemented, and continues on a daily basis, for the newly installed EMbaffle® heat exchanger. This intensive monitoring and analysis of both types of heat exchanger has demonstrated the overall performance of the crude unit, and has helped identify the optimum cleaning frequencies.

After the first run, a comparison of the heat exchanger types found that EMbaffle® generated 24% higher thermal performance and a substantially lower pressure drop. In addition, 18% fewer tubes were installed in the EMbaffle® heat exchanger. The tendency to fouling has been almost twice as low as when compared to conventional shell and tube segmental heat exchanger types. This has been reflected in the optimum cleaning frequencies that have subsequently been identified and which highlight the potential to maximise the running time of the unit and to help reduce energy and maintenance costs.

Energy savings have been shown to be 0.025 - 0.060 PJ/a for a 10MW heat exchanger, leading to an operating cost reduction of 50-125k € per year.