Application of Dual Enhanced Tubes in Heat Exchangers

This article is a technical report that details the application of dual enhanced tubes in various heat exchange services within the petrochemical and chemical processing industries. It presents three case studies illustrating the benefits of using dual enhanced tubes over conventional plain and low-fin tubes. The first case involves a petrochemical plant where the Thermo-B dual enhanced tubes resulted in a 12% increase in feed rate while maintaining the same heat exchanger size. The second case focuses on a refinery feed/effluent heat exchanger, highlighting improvements in design and weight due to the use of dual enhanced tubes. The third case discusses a chemical plant's recuperative heater, where dual enhanced tubes achieved an 11% increase in heat duty and a notable rise in feed preheat temperature. The article emphasizes the efficiency gains and cost reductions associated with these enhancements, while also noting the limitations in tube sizes and materials available for dual enhanced designs.