A refinery was facing coking problems in their Vacuum Heater. In addition, they also wanted to revamp the heater to handle Canadian Crude and reduce NOx emissions. FIS did the process study and as a result of the study, the client decided to build a new vacuum heater with an existing heater foundation. The new heater is 4 ft wider and FIS designed a superficial frame to make the heater sit on the existing foundation.

This vacuum heater is a horizontal tube box with a convection section. It is designed for a heat duty of 43MMBtu/hr. FIS’ scope involves design, engineering, structural analysis and supply of this heater to the site. This heater was erected in March 2009. The heater was delivered within 7 months of starting the job.

The performance under the new heater configuration is represented in the following table.