Reduced energy consumption is a major goal in the petroleum refining sector, and this is achievable through improving the fuel gas system.
Any gas, refinery, or petrochemical industry’s fuel consumption is the key factor determining its operational costs. Consequently, if the fuel gas system is optimized, significant energy savings can be achieved without sacrificing the steam reformer’s lifespan, and operational expenses can be reduced.
The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of changing (air, fuel) composition and find the effect on the combustion efficiency using ASPEN HYSYS® simulation.
It has been determined that by adjusting the parameters of the fuel gas system, the fuel optimization goal of this study has been met.
By using excess oxygen resulted from air separation unit in addition to combustion air, the reaction section efficiency improved by 5%. The use of wasted oxygen to increase heating value of fuel gas system and decreased the air consumption thus economical saving.
The modifications have been demonstrated to reduce energy consumption by as much as 30 %, reduce equipment size by 10 %, and cut emissions by 10 %, all while keeping the system’s thermal performance at a high level. When we save energy, we release less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The flames with mixed oxygen and combustion air were much more stable and homogeneous (both temporally and spatially) as compared to the room-temperature combustion air.
To ensure accuracy, a simulation was run in ASPEN HYSYS®; this confirmed the findings and revealed a decrease in fuel requirement of 4.92 %, making the process more cost-effective.
modification saved amounts of fuel gas per year would be (1401600*0.035315 = 49497.504 MMBTU/year). money saved per year would be (49497.504*5.75 = 284610.648 USD/year) per only 1 fired heater.
