Engineering Practice
Air Coolers Versus
Shell-and-Tube Water Coolers
as shown here, economical cooling is often achieved with a combination oi ooth air
and water cooling. Design considerations are also presented here
Ml-i'"fl5 K""1a" Ma"da'
Flum Daniel lndia pvt" Ltd
or the last 4lIIl years, air-
cooled heat exchangers
have become an indispens-
able part of many chemical,
petroleum-refining, petrochemical,
gas processing and power plants, as
well as oft-shore platforms. In loca-
tions such as the Middle East, where
the availability of cooling water is
limited end expensive, air-cooled ex-
changers may be a preferred choice.
However, even there, due to vari-
ous process constraints, air cooling
alone may not always suffice. so
water cooling may also be required.
Similarly, where cooling water is
plentiful, shell-and-tube coolers may
not always be a straightforward so-
lution. Due to the need for elaborate
cooling-water piping circuits, a cool-
ing tower, large cooling-water circu-
lation pumps and water-conditioning
systems, the complexity and capital
requirements are generally very high,
leading to a preference for air cool-
ers over shell-and-tube coolers. In
this article, with the help of a case
study, the author discusses situa-
tions where the combination of both
air cooler and water coolers can be
used, including considerations for
better overall project economics.
Why use air coolers‘? water-conditioning systems and so
Even though overall economics play on, because such additional equip-
a major role, an air-cooled heat ex-
changer is used extensively in all
kinds of on-shore plants and oft-
shore platforms as a first choice of
cooling mechanism for one of the
following reasons:
Total installed cost (TIC). The TlG
of an air-cooling system is less than
that of a cooling water system. Due
to lower thermal conductivity and
specific heat of air compared to
TABLE 1. FEBFURMAIIBE tIltl'fl-"Al=l|5D|ll lllt Ala coouaa
Particulars Air in counter-curranttc Air in co-currauttc |:iro- Air in cu-current
process fluid in finned cess fluid in finned tube to process fluid in
J‘-Ill“ {Ell-’=P ll ___{Ste|l 2] J hare tullelfitep 3]
I
|"iltl .lIl .-til ‘-_°iil 'l l}.lZl |Il1l ‘l IIllES 4
4; ,-, ;.¢_' 3 A5l5:-:2 A-Ellflxl
l'llt1l.UllUllB pasecsltlc. ‘lElB l2l'B 'lElB
_ cf rows ‘I I
Heat Duly, llilllll 12.-l 12.4 12.4
MTD, “C E? . E
4
5? 4
4
E4
_Hyi:lrocarhori velccity,mls V _ 1 l] ._E5 U 4?
I
I] 41
Surface area rec uiremerit, secs ll1arel,35,35it
-r I |_| I
3,Ei?lIl there}, 46,201
1
' 5490
-
m? Jfinnelill Jfinnedl A
Hydrocarbon NH E, inlout 3,3l'El-3El‘l 2,41 l-222 3,3l]l}-1'00
_ Tulle slim Temp, ic , soc -l
51.5 ,l':i1.5
-r
Exchanger cost, million $ ill?- l-Cl Hot estimated
_[g_gproltlmale_l y
Installation cost, million 5 [l.E-3 l c.s l ilix estimated
_ @_Epl‘fl-Lltl l‘l'lt':l'[E]
Elperating cost, mlllitln E l]-2=l
‘I
0-3
‘
Hot estimated
laggroximalel g
Total cost, million 5 1.5? 1 2.1 1 Hot estimated
lggproximatel — -r
water, the heat-transfer coefficient Fouling. The costs associated with
will be about one third that of a fouling are usually lower for air cool-
water-cooled exchanger, leading to ing compared to water cooling.
higher heat-transfer area in air cool- Shell-and-tube coolers, the cooling-
ers. ln addition, an air cooler requires tower basin and other peripheral
elaborate structures, which further equipment require regular mainte-
increases fixed costs by anywhere nance due to extensive fouling and
from three to ten times that of a shell- scaling, and also biological treatment
and-tube water cooler, depending on is required, without which the perfor-
materials of construction. Neverthe- mance of the operating plant drops
less. an air cooler is usually preferred substantially due to deposition or
to avoid. completely or partially, the fouling in the shell-and-tube coolers.
requirement of elaborate cooling- Air coolers may also become fouled
water piping circuits, cooling tower, on the outside due to the accumula-
cooling-water circulation pumps and tion of dust, insects and other debris
on the finned surface, but less main-
tenance is required to handle this.
ment incurs much larger fixed costs. Where shell-and-tube overhead con-
In addition to that, the operating cost densers or trim condensers are used
of pumping raw water, make-up for cooling or condensing column
water and power for cooling-tower overhead vapor, any drop in perfor-
fans makes the TIG of water-cooling mance due to fouling can mean loss
system much higher than an air-cool- in processing material lhydrocarbon.
ing system, which only requires op- chemical} and thermal energy. As a
erating costs for the fan power and result, the column pressure can be
some controls. such as variable fre- affected and the hydrocarbon mate-
quency drive, louver and so on {see rial is lost in slop, or flared, or the pro-
the case study. below}. duction of lower-grade material.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 'W"Lflifi.ltl.CHEMENG'UNLlNE-CClM FEBFlLJAFl"r' EEJ19
Flexibility. An air cooler offers more
flexibility for controlling the process-
fluid outlet temperature. There are
various ways to safe energy by con-
trolling the process-fluid outlet tem-
perature in an air cooler, as follows
[see also the case study below}:
1- Switching one fan off during winter
months or during the night time
1- Using variable-speed drive motors
having lU—ilZlU% operable range
1' Using auto variable-pitch fans
where blade angles change to
draw more or less air {power}
Such operational flexibility is non-
existent in shell-and-tube coolers. as
rarely any control is provided for the
cooling water side of water coolers.
Location. No specific location is re-
quired for air coolers. However, any
process plant that uses a shell-and-
tube cooler together with a water-
cooling system will be preferred
when the location is near a source of
water, such as river, lal<:e or the sea.
Power: in the event of a power failure.
cooling can continue in an air cooler
by natural convection. When fan mo-
tors fail to run due to mechanical or
electrical problems, an air cooler can
still provide cooling of 10-15% of the
design heat duty by natural convec-
tion. Loss of power or other mechani-
cal issues in a shell-and-tube cooler
can cause the water to be heated up
more than the desired outlet temper-
ature, causing scaling and fouling.
Why shell-and-tube coolers’?
Cooling range. Air coolers can be
used mostly as primary coolers for
process fluid that requires cooling
before storage- if a process fluid is to
be cooled or condensed from 100°C
or above, to ¢l5"C or below, an air
cooler can tirst cool the process fluid
down to 65—i'iIi'='tI, then further cool-
ing is provided by a shell-and-tube
water-trim cooler for final cooling be-
fore lt proceeds for rundown or stor-
age. A shell-and-tube cooler or con-
denser may not be a direct choice
due to the probability of high tube-
sl-iin temperature, which can lead to
scaling in the tubes. Where process
cooling is in a lower range (to--115‘-‘Cl
obviously air coolers cannot be used
at all, and shell-and-tube water cool-
ers are the only choice.
Approach temperature. Shell-and
tube water coolers can accept a
lower approach temperature. For an
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING l.l'tl'l.l'l.|"'iftl.l:I-lEl\JlENlI'_%l:.'lNLlNE.C"-Cll'la'1
air cooler, an economical approach
temperature between the outlet of
process fluid and the ambient air
temperature is generally 15-25%},
whereas for shell-and-tube water
coolers, the approach temperature
can be as low as 5‘"’C.
Winterization. In cold climates, air
coolers require extensive winterize-
tion arrangements to protect against
congealing ldue to low pour point of
process fluid] or freezing for very low
air-inlet design temperature. Elabo-
rate ducting with louvers, actuators,
steam coil or heating fans under
each fan can increase the capital
cost many times. In shell-and-tube
water coolers. simply switching the
cooling medium to a tempered water
system can prevent freezing of the
process fluid.
Plot areas. Air coolers require a
large plot area due to the larger
heat-transfer area requirement. in
contrast, a shell-and-tube cooler is
very compact and requires much
less space.
Location and performance. The
perlormance of air coolers is affected
by the proximity of other structures.
The efficiency of air coolers goes
down drastically when the wind di-
rection changes seasonally, affecting
air inlet temperature to the bundles
due to the presence of furnace
staclt, columns and other equipment
in the path of the changing air-flow
direction. Because these equip-
ment cannot be positioned very far
from other structures due to space
constraints in the operating plant,
the air temperature may increase by
few degrees. also, if sufficient space
is not allocated between air coolers
and columns, furnaces and buildings
in the same unit, hot-air dispersion
gets hampered, leading to hot-air re-
circulating to the fresh intaite air- This
lowers the mean temperature differ-
ence (lylTEl}, and the area for cooling
becomes inadequate.
Maintenance. Air coolers gener-
ally have higher maintenance re-
quirements than shell-and-tube
condensers. An air cooler consists
of many static and rotating com-
ponents that may have mainte-
nance issues, such as: ll fan-shaft
misalignment, leading to high fani
motor vibration which stops fan; 2]
high fariimotor bearing tempera-
ture, resulting in failure of coupling
gnnllni canal?
FEESHU.-i'tFt”r’ EH19
 Frollll llllllll drool sills Mg_ai|, Tulle Prearlul:-c sheet side FFIJITIZ lJ.lIJE $llli!E1 tt|'E -
5 Avg. til Avg. Tuore HEB’ mm “H 5"!“ than one row per pass, and should
side sltin
tIIeIiI|io “ll Twm III:
I PT-.'r:r_'_'c_; ll.rr! |'I|_|.v __ Fhflmmflmbme IIIImIII' IIIII IIIMII IIII .- rue onloniroluoo
preferably have at least two passes
Prooom luld c E23. "Flr.rl:lc:olisfrcm1ulrc . .. _ cog, ' ' 1 oer per row, so that the fluid flowing in
'H1=i=Ifv-1-is-= -- "'i"i-Y
i
not-ll,':""““'= -H_-|:_:';5g_gIl'=-‘E5
'-it as '1'
two rows due to pass distribution, is
M_k_I.%___ ....-é2.?. Pm .
|

Flo'r'|'3r=-ares Tar flows g=n=t- . ' gg_gII sis rsss1o,ra'c'

i.""I“"II ..59'9_i.52. . _t=u=.II'I. mg ' I
mixed in later passes after exchang-
'ri'ali'i'"iF"I’“_==- i....""ii;i' ll”
I'IT
l-Fl
3

'I'“"""' "““'“I°-I _. .5?‘-ii??? ___ ing heat with air at different tempera-
tures in different rows. This phenom-
:Flwr
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Ilwll -_ ___ __.-Ft’--ti.s.t -___ 'Passe
51.15533 get ;i_=_ir=i=ic.ss‘c
?‘1f.‘.-'?‘.‘“l enon is shown in Figure 1.
Floir_eP=s11'--‘l>'"
as-itat '
f" - I3?
IT:IIIIP
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f:
F". til.“ ‘"3-‘HI?
|:h,|||||]|Iljll1-'l-i.'l.1-‘il?I|I §|;;‘fi5 I-3-3.5IEil'
oi
To avoid such a situation, and if
"'“"*"-""“" Air llow
Flllid le111|;l-erelure in hoot header side
Fluid llerriueraturc in rear
lreaoorsido
""°“=“"-""‘“ "“I' I-In‘-'-' Process lllearchallel side the tube-skin temperature cannot
Fronlotraholsidolluidtornperaluro l'llI=tl llorr lltlltl lcmoclalurc
be achieved in conventional flow ar-
FIGURE 1. As seen by flrese two examples, the tube sl-tin temperature in an air cooler is linlteo to the rangement lhot fluid entering from
direction of the air flow
top nozzles}, a co-current arrange-
and belt; 3} dustidebrisrpollen built tube-side pressure drop, which can ment is tried out where process
up on tubes, leading to increased be justified economically because fluid enters from bottom nozzles
air pressure drop in the bundle and the increase in the operating and and moves up the bundle. Elue to
reduction of airflow (some reverse capital cost of the pump is small lower lylTD in such an arrangement,
flow also can be seen] leading to compared to surface area and cost the required surface area goes up
loss in cooling capacity; 4] corro- of air cooler saved. in general, this further. as is usually the case. this
sion of finned tubes due to salty at- design has a relatively higher surface kind of design is tube-side resis-
mosphere or mishandling by water area requirement- Adopting a deep tance contrclling, and a bare-tube
washing and so on; 5} breaitage bundle design also helps improve design instead of finned tube will be
or stuck louver or the failure of the the air-flow distribution in the bun- less expensive. Even after all these
louver positioner, causing restriction dle. Bundles should have no more alternatives are considered, if the
in air flow and reduction of cooling
capacity; and at mat-operation of
auto-variable pitch fan blades. as Process fluid is same as as stated in the Hydrocarbon cooling hjl tempered water in a shell-and-
they can get stuck and then air flow case study tulle cooler and cooling of same tempered weter cooling
cannot be adjusted by variable- in an air cooler
blade pitch angle. Type of exchanger I shell-and-tube Air cooler
_ Fluid Tgle J Eiacltwash oitf Tempered water Tempered wateri Air
Case study _ Temp. to, lrviiiii j soil-torso-so _ soieo
its an example, we discuss the chal- _ Heat duly, Irlliirl _ 12 . 4 12 4
lenges in handling a high-viscosity, _lvrro, “C _4s.s
high-fouling and low-pour-point hy- Hydrocarbon flollilrate, ltgflt 152,105 Hll
___Te@p-eretl wateLflo_wr_a_t_i_e, ltgflt I 5135.553 _5E5,Ef.‘iE _
drocarbon in an air cooler.
Ho. of bundlesishells required _ - is in series 4 i-
A residue-upgrading project in Shell-and-tutre areal air cooler care area, mi‘ i,ooo 1,5lIliIl
a petroleum refinery has a bach- IIIII|;tE!I'IlZlIlIE3 l'II.ll'l'lIIiIH' I In-III-II-II—- I‘ IIII I
wash oil cooler where hydrocarbon Exchangercost,millions[ggproximete} _ o - as o er
is cooled from 2o4 to rotc. The oil _ Installation cost, mil.ion $ lggproximate} , 11-32 lIl.El
viscosity is in the range of 1.4 to 40 _ Total installed cost, million S lggoroximate} I l]. so l 12
cF' and the pour point is 38°C. in this
project. the engineer has restricted TABLE 3. FEHFDRHIAHBE WITH GUMEIHED AIR DHULEB MID TEMFEBED WATER
the Reynolds number to a minimum SHELI.-Mil]-TIIBE GIIIILEII
of 2,000. The design ambient-air Process fluld is same as used In Hydrocarlron cooling oarfly by an alr cooler ' Cooling of same
temperature is 47°C. The location of Talrle 2 followed by tempered water in a shell-and- tempered water in
tulle cooler _ an air cooler
the refinery does not require exten- eof exclran er Pill‘ cooler shell-and-tuhe Air cooler
sive winterization for such a liquid. Huio Type Baclrwash olliltir Backwash oiliTem|:lered ' Tempered wateri
The design target for handling 1 water g Ajr
high-viscosity, high-fouling and con- _ Temp, “C, lnrout 2lIl4i11El A no-torso-so ‘Billed
gealing (low pour point} hydrocarbon Heat dtl , MW 9.01 3.4 3.4
is to achieve a tube shin temperature MTD, T E15 -l
15.2 15
of at least 15°C above pour point, Hydrocarbon flowrate, ltglh 152,1 [I15 A isaroc full
maximizing the tube velocity and the _ Tempered water flowrate, ltgrh lllil g 143,T5T 1 1irs,rsr
heat-transfer coefficient such that ..Brioole.ttsoells_asuireo__ 21- . _,_t!t_e__io.series.._ fil-
the Reynolds number lies in the tur- Elare area, m3 est soo _ is
bulent region. _ Reynolds number roses-e.ero Asst at midpoint J-
To get a reasonably high velocity Exchanger cost, million 5 o . es o . re lllfi
lggproximatel
in the tube side for such fluid re- Installation cost , million 5 0.29 0.23 o.2e
quires increasing the number of tube a roxlmatel
passes in a deep bundle of B to 12 Total installed cost. million 3 I153 0.39 I o.sa
rows. But this also leads to a higher legproximatel -l -r

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING W“I.flioN.CHEMENGCNLlNE-CCM FEBFlLJAFl“r’ 2519

design target is a higher tube-sl-tin qi -
temperature and a higher tube-side
velocity, the Fieynolds number in FIGURE 2. For applications where the fluid is botll ti st.‘ __
the transition zone is not achieved, viscous and clean, twisted tape turtrulators can ire
so other alternatives must be con- inserted into the tubes to increase heat transfer i ___;__;‘ '%"*"- _ I _'l:,‘olumn
sidered, such es cooling with tem- fluid starts congealing.
I -,,g_-Piperacltwi_IIII _;-
pered water- The following five design steps
ln the actual situation, the viscosity were considered for using an air I 1to|iIII'

of the process fluid increases as the cooler (Steps 1-3}, using a tem-
temperature of the process fluid falls pered water shell-and-tube cooler
while progressing in the tube bundle. {Step 4) and a combination of the FIGURE 3. shown here is a computer model of an
Also, if there is mal-distribution in the two (Step 5}. The results of the per- air cooler mounted on flre pipe raclt
air side of the multi-pass air cool- formance characteristics are sum-
ers, invariably the process fluid cools marized in Tables 1-3. Several l-tey Step 2. By arranging the process
more in some of tubes than in others- observations are pointed out in the fluid flow co-currently to air flow, the
This will further increase the viscos- following paragraphs: MTD goes down from diff} (coun-
ity in the cooler tubes and therefore Step 1'. The first attempt in thermal ter-current} to 57'“lS and therefore,
reduce flow through the tubes, which design, using a conventional coun- the surface area requirement goes
causes further cooling and more flow ter-current flow arrangement in an air up. The existing design of four bays
reduction. This process continues cooler, results in a Fleynolds number becomes inadequate in surface
at the outlet of soo {deep laminar area. so one more bay is added to
until ultimately, we may notice that
fluid has stooped flowing in many flow} and a tube-sltin temperature of total]. as the number of bays is in-
of the tubes, and is only flowing in 5lIl.6"’C- The design also has a high creased, the tube-side velocity goes
a very few tubes with higher veloc- tube-side pressure drop and a low down further (0.4? mist and so does
ity and turbulent flow regime. Pres- tube-side velocity, in spite of 12 tube the overall heat-transfer coefficient,
sure drop may be substantially higher passes in an eight-tube row bundle, as tube side resistance is control-
and. unless the pump can deliver the and therefore high surface area re- ling by S5‘iti. Even if the tube-st-tin
needed head, flow may stop and quirement lhigh cost}. temperature is improved, there is not

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First comes the experience, then the success: discover

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Fll‘.itlftE 4. tilormally, the inlet piping of an air
cooler requires t1 symmetrical dislnbulion
much improvement in the Fteynolds
number, and because it is outside
the users requirement. this method
is also not adequate.
Step 3. From the above, since
tube-side film coefficients are very
low and become controlling, there
is generally no advantage in using
fins on the air side to increase the
overall heat-transfer rate. Bare tube
bundles with a large number of rows
and split passes are more practical,
as shown above. The bare surface
area calculated by the software is
not very high, and the power re-
quirement is also similar to the first
two designs. The real advantage of
using bare tube bundles is that the
number of bundles is reduced from
10 to 8, while maintaining a skin
temperature of B1 .5"’l3-
Step 4- lvlost of the challenges seen
in the designs of Steps 1-3 can be
avoided if we bring tempered water
as a coolant. since normal cooling
water is not suitable for cooling a
process fluid with high viscosity, low
pour point and a limited tube-skin
temperature. When the total heat
duty is cooled in a shell-and-tube.
tempered water cooler, the capital
cost is very attractive, as shown in
Table 2- However, because an air
cooler is required for cooling tem-
pered water, the costs balance out-
lf a tempered water system is used
elsewhere in the plant that can be
tweaked and ramped up to accom-
modate this cooler, the scheme can
definitely be made attractive. How-
ever, in spite of more turbulence due
to baffling in the shell side, the Fieyn-
olds number is poor, because the
bulk temperature of the process fluid
is B1“G in the coldest shell.
Step 5. We can split the total cool-
ing load into two stages and use an
air cooler in a series with a tempered
water trim cooler. The outlet tem-
toil!“
ggs>“"_ _fl-
gee“
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_
_
FIGURE 5. When a perfectly symmetrical disince-
tion is not possible tas in Figure 4}, an equivalent
distribution of headers can be designed
perature {11tIi'“'Cl from the air cooler
is high enough to have a Fieynolds
number above 2.000. The rest of the
heat duty can be cooled in a closed-
loop tempered water system, as
shown in Table 3.
By opting for a combined system,
the surface area is optimized sub-
stantially and the total installed cost
is lower. an air cooler can handle a
higher inlet temperature, and a high
Reynolds number can be maintained
by limiting the outlet temperature of
the air cooler. Then hydrocarbon
is passed through the shell side
of a downstream tempered water
shell-and-tube cooler where higher
viscosity can be tackled better by
considering rotated-square (45 deg}
tube arrangement. As the bulk tem-
perature in the shell is above 65°C,
despite the low Beynolds number,
heat transfer coefficient and shell
side velocity are acceptable-
111erefore, we see that a combina-
tion of both shell-and-tube and air
cooler play a definite role in the over-
all cost economics. and together they
achieve more benefits when com-
bined than when used separately.
Handling lube oil in air coolers
In off-shore platforms where space
is at a premium, air coolers are
used for cooling lubricant oil. Lube
oil is both viscous and clean, and
therefore it is possible to use turbu-
fence promoters (Figure 2} or tube
inserts {turbulators} in this type of
air cooler. Such inserts can increase
the tube-side heat-transfer coeffi-
cient by 1[ltIl—25U% over bare tube
exchangers, with an increase in
pressure drop. but without much
increase in velocity. Twisted tape
turbulators are formed into a heli-
cal fashion and they increase heat-
transfer efficiency by breaking up
the laminar flow pattern of fluids
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 'ififW'y'tl.GHEMENGCNLlNE-CCM
inside the tubes. The swirling fluid
promotes greater contact with the
tube wall {increasing shear stress
at the walls many times more} en-
hancing tube-side convective heat
transfer efficiency. The increase in
values of hlusselt number, F-‘reynolds
number, Praridtl number, pressure
drop and friction factor will depend
upon the configuration of twisted
tape {twisted ratio. pitch ratio, tape
width, wire diameter and so on}.
Structural considerations
Support options. For an air-cooled
exchanger, there are two support
options: 1] to place it on pipe rack or
2) to place it on a separate structure
supported from the ground. Even
though air-cooled exchangers re-
quire more space than water-cooled
exchangers, the majority of space
problems can be resolved if they
are placed on a pipe rack (Figure
S}. Normally the tube bundle length
is fixed, based on the width of the
pipe rack. If the pipe rack width is B
m, the tube length could be 9.5 to
9-? m. The supporting legs of the air-
cooler bundle are fixed on the main
civil or structural beams, which sim-
plifies the pipe rack design. At the
same time, it is desirable to adjust
the pipe rack or the structure lon-
gitudinal column spacing, based on
the width of the air-cooler bundle, so
that the bundle legs sit straight on
top of the columns. Sometimes, it
may not be possible to adjust spac-
ing, since each tube bundle might
have different widths, depending on
service condition. Therefore, adjust-
ing the pipe rack columns for differ-
ent widths may not be feasible from
a structural design and detailing
point of view.
lltrafltways. There will be walkways
between sets of air coolers across
the length and near the headers for
facilitating operators to inspect the
bundle or operate the valves. The
width of these walkways is gener-
ally 1.5—2.o m. air coolers must
have access platforms mounted all
around on the structure to provide
maintenance. Air coolers have mo-
tors hanging at the bottom of the
air-cooler plenum. Hence, it is re-
quired to have access platforms un-
derneath the cooler for maintenance
of the motors. A regular staircase
should be provided for accessing
FEBRl..JAR“r' E519
the air cooler platforms or motor where a total often bays are divided have to be considered. The length
maintenance platforms. lvlonkey lad- into five bays both sides and vapor is of all branch pipes for all tube
ders are also provided in addition to distributed equally to both sides. The bundles from its header has to be
a staircase from the structure. piping of the air cooler needs to be more or less similar to keep the
Piping considerations. For a mini- supported. so either the structural pressure drop the same: this will
mum of two fans per bay, the height columns or the pipe-rack structural ensure equal distribution of fluids
of the underside of the fan inlet bell columns need to be extended up- to all bundles.
[for forced-draft units} or of the un- wards to properly support the pip- 2. Normally, the inlet-side header
derside of the bundle {for induced- ing. Such data have to be given at a box is considered as fixed for the
draft units} should be at least 2 m or very early stage in the project, since piping connection and the other
one fan diameter (whichever is the this needs to be considered during header is floating. But the bundle
greater} above the ground level, el- the design of the pipe rack- can move in transverse direction
evated floor or pipe bridge- The air The air coolers for an overhead of tubes by a few millimeters lsay.
coolers on the pipe rack should be system are normally used when a B mm minimum} or if it is fixed at
located in such a way that the bun- large quantity of vapor is required for one edge, then it can move by a
dles are accessible with a crane — condensation or a huge quantity of higher margin (say, 12-? mm mini-
at least from one side. gas or liquid needs to be cooled. The mum} in the other direction, as per
Normally, the inlet piping of an major points that need to be taken American Petroleum institute lAF'l.
air cooler requires a symmetrical care of when routing the inlet and ?th edition} recommendations.
distribution for condensers. There- outlet pipes are as follows: Usually, this value can be any-
fore, the number of baysrbundles 1- If the supply line has a very low where between 5 and so mm. This
is based on 2"‘ = 2, 4, B, 1B, B2 operating pressure, which is usu- header displacement is necessary
[Figure 4). When such an exact sym- ally the case for connecting a to compensate for piping inletiout-
metry is not possible due to some distillation column, care needs to let header expansion. The value
constraint, such as pressure drop be taken to keep the number of decided upon should be con-
or structural limitation, efforts should bends or elbows leading to the air firmed with the vendor of the air
be made to maximize an equivalent cooler at e minimum. But func- cooler, since the vendor may use
symmetry, as shown in Figure 5, tionality and stress requirements a different displacement provision.

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Air cooler used alone at lower ambient tem eraturcl
Air aln tlient
._-_ tam ‘*0
-._._ll~-_-_ 50"‘[I
Process fluid temp, to E5
Heal ogjy. MW 55.3
shaft er re uiremerit. kill 390
Air cooler and trim cooler combination er design} with air flow optimized for lower ambient temperature
Heat duly, ritw ss-s
_rirr rr_irr.vrste. xgg y s.goe,sss
shalt power requirement, kill sec
saving in shalt power per year
_i3-I322 "ll MW
The movement of tube bundles
in the transverse direction could
occur only when the piping con-
nected to equipment nozzles gen-
erates enough force to overcome
the friction at the bundle supports.
That is why it is a common prac-
tice to provide stainless steel.
polytetrafluoroethylene lPTFE} or
other type of plate at the support
point to ease the movement. But
this must be done in consultation
with the vendor-
3. The loads created on the bundle
nozzle -- due to thermal expan-
sion, the weights of the pipe, in-
sulation and fluid. and the inside
pressure of piping — should be
less than the limits given by API.
Sometimes the vendor allows a
higher allowable load [normally
two times the code value}. variable-pitch fans.
Locating shell-and-tube coolers.
The standalone water condenser
and shell-and-tube trim water
cooler can be placed above the
condenser drum on a structural
platform supported from grade.
Even though a shell-and-tube water
cooler will require less space than
an air cooler, some area allocation
is needed on the ground for on
the platform for off-shore applica-
lions}. The pressure of the cooling
water reaching to the tube side of
condensers and trim coolers {when
on a platform} is very important for
proper functioning of the condenser
and the trim cooler. If the pressure
drop in the cooling water circuit is
not properly calculated while de-
signing the inletloutlet piping, the
actual cooling water flowrate will be
lower than that of the design cal-
culation, and the performance may
suffer as a result.
Flexibility. The operating costs for
the air cooler include the electrical
power required to operate the fans
-. 4111!-'3 ._t4"i3
53.? 42.0
58.? __-‘ll
320 350
so-a ss-s
_4,r-121,012 lists} _ 3,4liiT,B2E tests}
130 1o4
r
1,030
-r
2,233
and sometimes power is required
for heating coils in cold climates.
Normatly, the design of the cooler
will be such to accommodate the
highest expected ambient tempera-
ture lfor example, 50°C}, but be-
cause of seasonal changes, such a
strategy would be wasteful during
the periods when the ambient tem-
perature is lower {for example, 40“'C}
— which can be as much as 50%
for the year. Operating power costs
can therefore be much lower than
the installed power costs by using
two-speed motors, auto-variable
pitch fans and variable frequency
drive rvrol fan-motor control to re-
duce the air flow. In temperate cli-
mates, as much as 50% or more
of the design power may be saved
over the course of a year with auto
Nowadays, VFD technology has
become popular and more com-
mon rather than auto variable-pitch
fans, which are problematic for a
number of reasons. The air require-
ment can be adjusted from 10 to
100% through VFD control. Table
4 presents the potential savings
that can be expected by adjusting
the power requirements to different
ambient-air temperatures, for both
a standalone air cooler, and for a
combination of air cooler and trim
cooler. When the ambient tempera-
ture drops to below 34°C — which
can occur during 5 to B months
over the year, the trim cooler may
not even be required at all, since
the total heat duty can be handled
by air cooler alone. So in addition to
the power savings, there will be ad-
ditional savings for not using cooling
water, which can cost around $0.4
millionryr. If a refinery decides to
keep both air coolers and trirn cool-
ers on line, power saving through
reduction of air flow via ‘v'FD is very
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 'v'dl.h0r‘v.CHEMENGCNLlNE-CCM
substantial, as shown in Table 4.
Such flexibility is not possible
using only shell-and-tube coolers.
_ where operators only very rarely will
adjust the cooling water flowrate by
operating exchanger valves (manu-
ally or automatically}. Therefore, we
see that shell-and-tube and air cool-
ers both have definite roles in the
overall cost economics.
Weatherizing for colder climates.
ln some parts of the world, where
ambient conditions are such that in
winter, air temperature dips below
freezing, temperature control of the
process streams at the air-cooler
outlet is required to prevent freezing
of low pour-point hydrocarbons. This
leads to a more complicated design
for the air cooler.
When a minimum tube-wall tem-
perature has to be maintained in the
air cooler, a recirculation system is
employed whereby automatic lou-
vers at the top and sides of the air
cooler housing (containing the entire
assembly of tube bundles. ducting,
steam coils, plenums and fan mo-
tors} control the extent of recircula-
tion. The recirculation is possible in
forced-draft air coolers, since hot ex-
haust air can be recirculated through
a duct-and-louver system.
A steam coil is generally a sepa-
rate tube bundle of one or two rows
having a length and width similar to
the main air cooler, that is placed
below the main air cooler bundle. if
an electric fan heater is to be pro-
vided in place of a steam-heated
bundle, the same is placed below
each air cooler fan. Low-pressure
(LP) steam being inside finned tubes.
the steam-heated bundle and lou-
ver will involve additional pressure
drop in the fan design. Closing the
louver on top of a bundle allows the
healing coil to warm the bundle dur-
ing slart up in freezing weather, so
that the material in the bundle will
not freeze or solidify. A steam coil is
also used to temper very cold air to
the bundles in continuous operation
while the fan is operating and the
exhaust louver is open. When two
fans are operated per bay, an auto-
variable-pitch fan or fan with l.-‘Fiji is
kept at rear end of the bundle, so
that the process fluid outlet temper-
ature can be controlled.
C.-‘onfrolling recirculation. A part
of the air leaving from the top of the
FEBRLJAR“r' SO19
 --I: ~';_=._r,- l _ -.r =.: - l.-. L... r r -l- r |
I---- -.r
system is recirculated and mixes regulate the opening and closing .. . 1 | '!_: '
' 'lr-- =.-::-!--:-
with fresh air entering from the sides of the outlet louver. The duct sizing
so that the combined temperature is calculation and differential pres- ‘..'

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precisely the design ambient tem- sure drop across the dampers is lf;'i:=;:r': s ;':fiil:'I-. !:':' --l;. l ll t
perature. The lower the ambient carefully done to avoid failure of -:_:" r 1 51l':_:-j_-' lI‘:;'.':r_:_ I :':" ~,'.':;_:‘_i
temperature, the greater will be the the system. The vendors scope of -II::""=i -- ' -iIiI==II-'= ==I--=':"I'==';r-II-'-
extent of recirculation. work will include the design of the -7- i:'-;r""i-l'-l_;i_iI f!:r!'l': :--;:_':if'.'..;-.'l& '=_ll".-r':;."::"r l-l-_-Iii l._:"'
For startup, when ambient tem- louvers. -n general, air-cooler tube- ‘ii-' l-'=="i-;-::-zr=t:": l":&.i Zr-.i-:1: liilil i'i5r'.'1r'-I-Iii‘. low. *"r
--..- -_'.- .- .-|.-I.-.-..-I. I" I
.::.-::'.l.. .=. ..,:. I.-,1: : . .-
perature is lower than design am- skin temperature is kept 15—20°C
bient temperature, ambient air can above the tube-side fluid pour-
be passed through a live-steam point temperature through this Author
coil, located below the bundle, elaborate system. lllahas ll lilandal is a principal
such that air approaching the bun- Aithough the cost of such an air desigll errgiileer for Fluor Elailiel
Indra Pvt. ltd. Itilh Floor, infinity
dle is heated up to the design tem- cooler is quite high, it is still pre- Tower B. 0,'ber' City. BLF Elly
perature. The recirculation of exit ferred in colder climates to prevent Phase ll, Surgeon 122 002- fiery-
air is gradually increased, which icing or frosting. I ons, lrrdia: Phone --Ell-l24-
reduces the steam requirement. Eoiled by Gerald 0ndrey 45i0r00: Fax: +B1-124-
4203-P00: Email; mantis-
Eventually, the steam supply can l rnandsl@fiuor.corrrl- He has more
be stopped altogether. Fteferences i than I-‘i4 years of experience in the
The air cooler is fitted with a duct I-_=:._; '2 tr ll l-- I :_;"r:: :-._= I .l-'|_--.:_:i l_. -1 l._. __ .r: lieltl of process heat transfer. cost optimization studies.
| .I process des:gn and operalrorrs. process revamp, pro;ect
leading from the top outlet to the -'1 '-I-I::.:::=r::::- ll~;:-iii l II'."ii"=lII"""' -I-52:2-2
lII"' =:""'I |'l:'|ii:'|'-': i;‘I'. I-I"II'iII"II|
l" "Iii",-' i'Ii'I'-E!II'-".‘tI""
control and energy managemerit- Prior to l-lrior, he
bottom inlet. Louvers are placed in -| 1.. ‘I . I . ' _..
wort-red at Errginaers lntlia Ltd. Delhi anti Hindustan Pa-
ul-;- '..'r ..' ‘Jr. --ll.-.'l --'-I! I---if
the bypass duct. at the air inlet and II--I"'|:'I!.‘-ii‘ lit: =l;:':r:l:::-rI-.- ii"-r'l -.1: "r: l..-::- I
:---r-":2-l
troleum ll-Iumbai Flelinery- lvlarldaf has presented many
papers in various seminars on heal transfer. energy
at the air outlet. The temperature of -.Ii l'--::.::- .-::- I..I' -- '-..-I.-L utl "-.r-.l'. l.'-I.. =rI' I.-I-r'I:~. - -;:'I..'..-ul -.'l-:1 nlorragerrrerrt anti process irnproverrrem lvlerrtlal holds
air just below the tube bundles will “.:l..l
. ..-
'.l' .l-.- l..i:-..-:- I.---.r
. '_.... _' _ ' ' _._
a B-Tech degree tn chemical engineering from the In-
regulate the opening and closing of |
--
|
'..li:'i_l"!i-;i .'
.--r. . I
__._2':r_l l.l;_i'"zlr_r:' -l
I .- .
-.~'::;_:'= ._-:;-:;!x tliorr lnslilrrle of Teclrrrolcgy Belhi on-ti Masters tlegree
inlet and bypass louvers, whereas lI'II':-::-:'rr:e:"- r --I‘-IL l'l:.==.2 l:~-::i'za' .r -I=-:-.:;:;': ll;=r"::- ll1 lrrrarrcral nlarragerlrenl from -_li]lTlf‘lf_IlEil Bajaj lrrslilule
of lvlanagemenl Sllrrlies. l".lumhai- India-
the process outlet temperature will l.III'ir5. III.‘ l3‘..-:"' I; III:-': '--i'l"iE*i

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