📋 Case Study

Cooling Water Circuit Fouling Mitigation in Refinery FCC Unit

Biofilm + CaCO₃ scaling reduced heat transfer by 38%, risking catalyst deactivation

🏗️ Project Overview

Major Gulf Coast refinery turnaround

🎯 Challenge

Biofilm + CaCO₃ scaling reduced heat transfer by 38%, risking catalyst deactivation

🔧 Design Approach

Applied coupled momentum-mass-heat transfer analysis to identify low-velocity stagnation zones; installed targeted ultrasonic antifouling + controlled pH dosing

📐 Design Diagram

AI-generated project design illustration

📐 Key Calculations

Sherwood Number for Scaling Surface

Sh = 0.023 Re⁰·⁸ Sc⁰·³³

Result: 1840

Predicts local deposition flux

📊 Results

Maintained ΔT < 4°C across exchangers for 18 months, eliminated unscheduled shutdowns, extended cleaning cycle from 3 to 11 months

💡 Lessons Learned

• •Sc > 1000 indicates diffusion-controlled scaling
• •Velocity < 0.6 m/s enables biofilm nucleation

✅ Key Takeaways

• 1Sc > 1000 indicates diffusion-controlled scaling
• 2Velocity < 0.6 m/s enables biofilm nucleation