Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A century of
fired heaters Over 2,500 fired heaters
supporting the development in over 70 countries
and growth of the global
refining market
Locations
In 1915, the first vegetable oil heater was supplied using Power Specialty’s technology, a founding Amec Foster Wheeler
company, and was quickly adapted for the emerging refinery industry. Since then Fired Heaters have been critical
components of all refineries, as well in petrochemical, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and other facilities, which the
company still designs, builds, installs and supports a century later.
Amec Foster Wheeler’s team of approximately 150 Fired Heater specialists, located across the world, continue to provide
full life-cycle support, technically superior designs, and efficient equipment, all based on their significant pedigree
and century of experience. Since 1915, we have supplied an average of over 25 fired heaters per year in more than 70
countries, in all six inhabited continents.
Jon Nield, Amec Foster Wheeler’s Group Project Delivery Director, said: “Our Fired Heaters
team has a 100 years of cutting edge expertise at its fingertips and has helped to shape 3
today’s global refining and petrochemicals industry. Millions of people, without even
knowing it, have been transported by a product which one of our Fired Heaters has helped
to refine.”
1903
Roots of fired heater equipment technology emerged when Ernest Foster invented and patented cast iron ‘gill rings’
increasing the heat transfer surface area of steam super-heaters. These cast iron ‘gill rings’ lead to the same principal
being used in the convection section of fired heaters
1915
A vegetable oil heater was the first fired heater to use Power Specialty’s technology
1919
Design and supply of the first all-convective heater to the refining industry
1920
Patent of the first tubular heater with a direct fired radiant section
1927
First vacuum distillation unit heater
1939
Firmly established as the world leader in refinery technology
1939
First double-fired visbreaker/coker heater
1953
Built the world’s biggest crude distillation heater
1954
Patent for the famous Terrace Wall design of Steam-Hydrocarbon Reforming Furnace
1990s
Growth of investment in petrochemicals, LNG, selective refinery processes such as visbreaking delayed coking,
hydrodesulphurisation, catalytic reforming, CO boilers/heaters, steam hydrocarbon reforming and EDC (ethylene
dichloride) cracking, has seen the diversification of the fired heaters technology to support the new technology
2012
The 150th delayed coker heater awarded
2015
100 year anniversary of Amec Foster Wheeler Fired Heaters
The Amec Foster Wheeler advantage
Our many repeat customers know that Amec Foster Wheeler Fired Heaters deliver value
by bringing experience, expertise, innovation, technology and cost-effectiveness to every
one of our Fired Heater projects.
Our low life-cycle cost approach to design and our high quality standards have
stood the test of time with numerous fired heaters that today are operating
well beyond their original design life and performance specifications.
5
We have a proven track record Commitment to safety Quality & material services
of delivering projects on ►► Zero harm culture ►► High quality and experienced sub-
time and within budget while ►► Active HSSE (Health, Safety, suppliers
maintaining an exemplary Security and Environment) ►► Custom quality plans that include
program client requirements are actively
safety record. monitored for conformance
►► Safe office behaviours
►► Life critical activities ►► In-house traffic and expediting
specialists to ensure delivery of
materials
Engineering
►► ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and
►► Innovative and custom designed ISO 18001 certified
for specific project requirements
► Proper mass velocities and After installation commitment
heat flux rates for the
process service ►► Field services available for
erection, commissioning and
► Burner/heat flux profiles to
start-up
fit the service and firebox
profile ►► Field services available for tuning,
audits, repairs or training
►► Total installed cost (TIC)
approach to design and supply ►► Studies and materials for revamps
and upgrades
►► Robust design using the latest
design tools including 3D, CFD ►► Original equipment manufacturer
and CFM (OEM) replacement parts
►► No outsourcing of engineering so
lessons learned are retained
Project services
►► Single point of contact (POC)
►► Accurate and timely reporting
►► Planned constructability reviews
►► Full documentation packages:
drawings, installation, operation &
maintenance (IOM) manuals and
data books
►► Pro-active approach to client
communications
Terrace Wall™
Vertical tubes
Amec Foster Wheeler’s Low BTU, low pressure PSA offgas is Direct reduction iron (DRI) plants
stabilised against the brick firing wall
proprietary Terrace Wall™ preventing any instability or flame Unique geometry is well-suited for
design features a vertical impingement. these special high temperature gas
radiant section consisting services.
of a single row of tubes with The sloping walls also provide a
uniform vertical heat flux profile since
burners on either side of the
tubes arranged in two terrace
the distance from the tube to the
radiating wall decreases as the rising
Features/advantages
levels. Hot flue gases flow flue gas cools while releasing heat to
the tubes. Each terrace is capable of Process design and control
naturally upward into the
being independently fired to provide
convection section similar to the particular heat flux desired in This distinctive double-fired design
a conventional fired heater its zone. This allows the operator to offers various advantages for critical
services in refining and petrochemical
providing true counter- match the vertical heat flux to the
process heat demand within the applications where uniform,
current heat transfer for tube, such as adjusting for effects of controlled, symmetrical heat is
improved radiant efficiency. catalyst ageing, thereby avoiding tube required by the process.
The convection section has hot spots and prolonging tube and
catalyst life. Multiple terrace levels permit
several coil sections, which controlled heat input and flexibility in
recover heat from the flue gas Terrace Wall units can be supplied optimising cracking coil configurations
leaving the radiant section as natural draft, APH or gas turbine or biasing heat input to account for
for various process and utility exhaust configurations. Selective reforming catalyst ageing.
duties. catalytic reduction (SCR) equipment
can also be incorporated. Elimination of flame impingement
on the tubes provides another
An air preheat system (APH) can be
advantage of the upward-firing terrace
provided to recover heat from the
configuration, increasing unit reliability
flue gas, while avoiding dew point Applications and on-line performance.
problems. High fuel efficiency can also
be achieved in a natural draft design Steam reforming Feedstock flexibility and high
through steam generation and boiler
►► Ammonia turndown capability are other features
feed water (BFW) pre-heating. On
of the Terrace Wall design.
hydrogen steam reformer applications ►► Hydrogen
an associated steam system may also ►► Methanol Special flat flame burners designed to
be supplied.
Amec Foster Wheeler requirements
Ethylene cracking furnaces are available in Lo-NOx designs
The double firing on sloped firing with ambient air and preheated air
walls and the multiple level burners capability.
Mechanical design and supply of
firing upward and adjacent to the wall
ethylene pyrolysis furnaces with
refractory provide a firebox with high
proprietary process design by others.
radiation and predictable flue gas Draft options
circulation. This assures safe, stable
combustion, even with very lean fuels Hydrocracker The Terrace Wall reformer can be
such as pressure swing absorption designed to operate under natural
(PSA) offgas. The burners are selected Designs provide a more uniform tube draft without the need for forced-draft
to spread the flames both horizontally metal temperature for these critical (FD) or induced-draft (ID) fans.
and vertically along the brick firing high pressure coils.
wall for a planar heat flux pattern. When air preheat is selected,
the Terrace Wall design does not
require costly backup ID fans and 7
the associated instrumentation
and maintenance. Furthermore, the
reformer is designed to switch over to
natural draft performance when the
APH system is not used or the ID fan
fails maintaining production of syngas
and steam.
Modularisation
Horizontal tube designs provide the Delayed coker heaters have robust
most uniform and predictable heat flux radiant stanchions that provide for
to the process coil. individual component replacement.
Permits the radiant cell structural The air-cooled wall design approach
Process design and control columns to be located at strategic permits large-scale modularisation
points for convection section and of the radiant sections, with shop- 11
Arbor-type heaters permit the use of stack support (simpler and less costly installed casing, lining, and structural
many parallel process passes and are structures) and facilitates larger scale steel.
well-suited for high-capacity vapour- modularisation than the brick-wall
phase heating services, especially design. Radiant coils can be supplied in
those requiring a low process-pressure arbors welded to manifolds for truck
drop. shipment.
Critical piping interface
Fuel gases are readily fired in either Convection sections are supplied in
the sidewall-fired or floor-fired The movement of large high modules.
configurations. State-of-the-art ultra temperature transfer lines must
Lo-NOx burners can be designed to be accommodated with a properly
handle heavy oil fuels. designed support system, using
counterweights or springs. Amec
The conventional bottom manifold Foster Wheeler’s specialists work
design is also well-suited for firing with the client’s piping engineers to
liquid fuels and can be designed to perform the combined system stress
handle heavy oil fuels. analysis for each coil and transfer line.
This approach assures a proper, cost-
Control of tube metal temperatures effective system design, eliminating
or process outlet temperatures is potentially costly pipe supports that
provided by use of single-fired or would otherwise be needed.
double-fired burner firing.
Maintenance
connected excellence
in all we do
Vertical tube box and cylindrical heaters
Modularisation
The radiant section tubes For EDC cracking furnace application, compromising flow stability or 17
radiant wall burners are placed mechanical design. This benefits
are horizontal and arranged at multi-levels on both side walls large-capacity units.
in a rectangular box-shaped providing uniform heat to the
enclosure with a convection horizontal tubes located in the middle. Tube layout facilitates thermal and
section above or between the Amec Foster Wheeler is experienced in hydraulic symmetry for each pass.
offering the visbreaker heater with air
radiant section(s). preheat system design in accordance Potentially high turndown is
with all licensor design requirements. especially critical for two-phase flow
The most popular design applications.
is single-fired, consisting of Other options, such as combustion-air
tubes located on the radiant preheat and SCR equipment can also Multiple passes on each wall with
be integrated. nested pass design allows uniform
sidewalls and roof with a heat input to each pass, critical for
row of upward-firing burners vacuum heater service (refer to details
centrally located in the floor. Applications on facing page).
Smaller units, often called
EDC cracking furnace design with
“cabin” heaters, have one Refining
multiple level side fired burners allows
radiant firebox with a sloped ►► Atmospheric (crude/bitumen) fine tuning of heat flux for optimal EDC
roof resembling a cabin ►► Delayed coker conversion.
shape. Larger units have two ►► Vacuum
Roof tubes can be provided depending
or more radiant fireboxes, ►► Visbreaker on process, to increase radiant surface
with an essentially flat roof. ►► Hydrocracker area.
►► Hydrotreater charge
On the single-fired design, the
►► Single-phase charge Maintenance
flexibility to adjust the radiant tube
length to maintain proper height to ►► Reboilers
width dimensions for well-stirred box ►► Two-phase charge Radiant tubes can be individually
design practice makes the horizontal pulled and replaced along with their
tube box a practical design for many tube supports if needed.
Petrochemical
critical services.
►► EDC cracking furnaces Radiant section can be supplied with
Our widely used “classic” single-fired or without header boxes for quick
►► Hot oil heating
delayed coker features a central access to return bends. Mechanical
►► Reboiling cleanout (plug) headers, if desired,
divider wall (bridgewall) in each radiant
section. Burners are located in rows ►► Single-phase charge must be in header boxes.
on each side of the bridgewall. This ►► Two-phase charge
arrangement provides independent Floor mounted burners are centrally
firing control for each process pass located for proper operation and
and enhances heat transfer to the Features/advantages maintenance.
firebox tubes.
Process design and control Modularisation
Multiple passes on a wall can provide
even heat flux and similar hydraulics
Achieves better control of heat input These heaters offer a high degree
by use of nested pass designs that is
to the tube with proper design of the of modularisation, in which radiant
alternating passes down the radiant
firebox height to width ratio and if cells can be shop assembled with
wall.
needed, use of bridgewalls. refractory, supports and coils
Double-fired versions are used in many installed.
Tube length can be increased
critical services such as EDC cracking
over vertical tube designs without Convection sections are supplied fully
furnaces and hydrocracker heaters.
modularised .
CO boiler/heater – flue gas cooler
Amec Foster Wheeler’s project and Field erection cost and time can Modules provide better ability to
logistics team carefully evaluates each be greatly reduced. This aspect is construct components to each other
design to assure proper clearances, especially important for projects built as compared to numerous similar-
structural integrity and protection in in areas of limited work force, plot looking panels requiring accurate
shipment and handling. space or facilities. match marking and sequencing.
Many of our design improvements, New and existing fired heaters need
some of which are listed below, can careful review and selection of the
provide benefits of lower maintenance proper materials for construction,
costs, higher availability, better due to heavier and sourer new
operating limits, lower NOx or crudes along with chemical process
improved fuel efficiency. improvements. Amec Foster Wheeler
has expertise to provide solutions for
►► Air preheat addition
the following technical services:
►► Capacity upgrading
►► Coating specifications
►► Changing process services
►► Corrosion control and prevention
►► Convection section replacement
►► Fabrication specifications and
►► Emissions upgrading – burners
recommendations
and SCR equipment
►► Failure analysis
►► Stack extension assessment
►► Material selection and design
►► Steam reformer furnaces
review
► Capacity increases
►► Metallurgical assessments
► Feedstock upgrades
►► Prevention and repair strategies
► Process gas boilers
►► Problem resolution assistance
► Single row conversions
►► Repair recommendations
► Steam drums
Field services
When enquiring
For Amec Foster Wheeler units,
Our experienced service staff can knowing the contract number or serial
provide an audit of the current number (located on the nameplate) or
operation for correct mechanical general arrangement drawing number
installation, burner operation, and will help us provide you with a quick
general operations. response to your enquiry. If your
inquiry concerns other manufacturers
►► Emergency field repair please provide appropriate drawings
►► Energy audits or descriptions.
►► Steam reformer audits
►► Heater tuning/balancing
►► Burner tuning/replacement
►► Training
Amec Foster Wheeler (www.amecfw.com) designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex
assets for its customers across the global energy and related sectors.
Employing around 40,000 people in more than 55 countries across the oil and gas industry – from
production through to refining, processing and distribution of derivative products – and in the mining,
clean energy, power generation, pharma, environment and infrastructure markets.
Amec Foster Wheeler offers full life-cycle services to offshore and onshore oil and gas projects
(conventional and unconventional, upstream, midstream and downstream) for greenfield, brownfield
and asset support projects, plus leading refining technology.
Amec Foster Wheeler shares are publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and its American
Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Both trade under the ticker AMFW.
@amec_fw
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