Valuable heat no longer wasted
One of the major paraxylene producers in Asia replaced an existing air-cooled heat exchanger on top of a distillation column with an Alfa Laval Compabloc. The new Compabloc heat exchanger recovers 9 MW of heat. Over a year it saves the company energy valued at approximately 1.25 million euros annually. Payback time, including the installation cost, was less than 6 months.
DATE 2023-11-28Paraxylene production involves a series of distillation steps which use large amounts of energy. A standard 650,000 tpa plant produces approximately 170 MW of heat that is often treated as waste and cooled off. Recovering 40% of this heat leads to a 12% cut in the plant’s total energy consumption.
There are typically 19 distillation columns in a paraxylene plant. Five of these produce 50% of the waste heat, making them prime candidates for an energy-recovery revamp.
Benefits
- Perfect for condensing and heat recovery duties
- Superior performance
- Compact size
- Low pressure drop
- Minimal maintenance
- Designed and built for rough conditions