lower stack temperature, improved efficiency, and reduced fuel demand. Case 2 demonstrates how thermal efficiency evaluation can support the full cleaning decision cycle. The pre-clean assessment quantified the performance loss and supported the case for intervention. The post-clean assessment measured recovered efficiency. The follow-up assessment then gave the operator evidence of how performance changed over time and how future cleaning intervals could be considered. For steam cracker operators, this type of data can support more disciplined cleaning decisions. Rather than waiting for severe fouling or relying on fixed intervals, sites can use operating data to assess value at risk, verify recovery, and determine when the next intervention is justified. Conclusion The field examples show that fouling losses in steam cracker convection sections can be measured, valued, and recovered when cleaning is planned around performance data. Rising stack temperature, reduced recovered duty, higher firing demand, and changes in steam cracker per- formance provide practical indicators of thermal efficiency loss, while ROI modelling helps compare expected recovery with cleaning cost, downtime, and likely re-fouling rate. Where deposits sit deep within the tube bank, the selected method must be able to reach the affected surfaces, restore sufficient heat transfer area, and allow the result to be veri- fied. Robotic systems provide a controlled means of accessing
these areas, particularly where conventional methods are limited by geometry, visibility, or cleaning coverage. Fundamentally, the technical requirement is to quantify the loss, recover the duty, verify the result, and use the data to inform the next intervention. When aligned with an RCM philosophy, cleaning can be prioritised by asset criti- cality, performance loss, and recoverable value, rather than treated as a standalone maintenance response.
Rovex and Tube Tech are marks of IGS TubeTech.
References 1 IGS TubeTech, Performance Recovery in Steam Crackers to Protect Margins in Olefins Production, White Paper, 2026. Includes Figure 1, Cumulative Fuel Savings from Robotic Cleaning of a Fouled Convection Bank; Figure 2, Estimated Annual Fuel Cost Associated with Convection Section Fouling; and Case Study 1, Major US Steam Cracking Facility: Robotic Cleaning of Convection Section Furnace. 2 IGS TubeTech, Rovex ™ remotely operated robotic technology for fired heater convection section cleaning, product, and field application data. 3 IGS TubeTech, before and after robotic convection section cleaning, field application imagery. 4 IGS TubeTech/South American ethylene facility, Thermal Efficiency Evaluation and Robotic Cleaning of SRT-IV Pyrolysis Furnace, anonymised internal technical case study, 2025. Scott Donson is Vice President of TubeTech, part of Integrated Global Services. He works with refinery and petrochemical operators to improve fired heater, steam cracker, and process asset performance through specialist cleaning, inspection, and reliability technologies.
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