PTQ Q4 2025 Issue

Cost of re-gasketing 13%

Additional plates to meet the process demand 43%

Cost of plate replacement 43%

Other 1%

plate technology include Alfa Laval’s proprietary CurveFlow, OmegaPort, and FlexFlow. The new CurveFlow design feature replaces the legacy ‘chocolate pattern’ design with uniform media distribution, eliminating dead zones and maintaining turbulence across the whole plate surface. The OmegaPort orientation reduces pres- sure loss at the ports and helps minimise turbulence, which results in improved flow distribution across the heat transfer channels and consequently enhanced thermal efficiency. The new channel geometry of FlexFlow enables asymmetrical flow configurations to optimise flow distribution with uneven hydraulic loads by increasing heat transfer on both sides of the plates, resulting in pressure drop reduction. Furthermore, many innovative design features contrib- ute to increased heat exchanger performance, resulting in a 10-20% increase in total efficiency while significantly reducing fouling tendencies to extend maintenance inter- vals. For more information, consult industry references or manufacturer documentation. Performance evaluation at Middle Eastern refinery One of the world’s largest refineries, located on the coast of the Red Sea, utilises seawater for secondary cooling sys- tems, which comprise a total of 26 gasketed PHEs supplied in the early 1980s (see Figure 3 ). These heat exchangers have served successfully for nearly four decades without instigating any refinery downtime, and thanks to the Alfa Laval service operations team for their continuous service. However, with time, the complete cooling system perfor- mance began to decline due to: • An increase in cooling demand with production expansion. • Higher ambient sea water temperatures. • Increase in mechanical wear with periodic maintenance. • Accelerated fouling rates. Figure 3 Schematic setup of heat exchangers in sea-cool- ing application

Performance audit 0.1%

Cost of cleaning (CIP) 0.9%

Figure 4 Opex for an average three aged heat exchangers

• Scarcity of spare parts for the obsolete units. The combination of thermal demand and ageing equip- ment needs necessitated replacement to achieve the desired performance. Significant thermal inefficiencies were found after a com - prehensive root cause analysis (RCA), which was instigated by the refinery’s process engineering team. The existing heat exchanger units were unable to keep up with the increase in heat duty from 26.9 MW to 39 MW without a 20-22% increase in plate count. Frequent cleaning, re-gas- keting, and subsequent pressure drops were driving up the overall maintenance expenses. Changing conditions: a carbon-neutral economy To support customer goals, it was suggested to replace the existing aged installations in stages with new technology upgrades allowing for a smoother transition while optimising the operating benefits over time. The major benefits include:

PTQ Q4 2025