Crude oil refinery

Alfa Laval has a complete portfolio of heat exchangers for refining processes. These start from compact and fully welded heat exchangers, Compabloc and high pressure spiral heat exchangers (HPSHE) which all increase energy savings, reduce emissions and improve refining process, with the additional advantages of reduced costs for installation and operation.

In processes where design conditions exceed Compabloc and high pressure spiral (HPSHE) limits, we provide special shell-and-tubes, air coolers and the Packinox heat exchanger. The latter operates as a feed x effluent interchanger in some specific processes, offering a high grade of heat recovery.

No matter what application you have that needs a heat exchanger, Alfa Laval offers you the optimal solution for your specific requirements.

Save energy and reduce emissions

When refineries convert from traditional shell-and-tube technology to more efficient Alfa Laval compact heat exchangers in a crude preheating train, they can achieve energy savings of up to 50%. Alfa Laval compact heat exchangers substantially decrease CO₂, SOx and NOx emissions. For every ton of natural gas burned, approximately 2.6 tons of CO₂ is released.

Small footprint, large capacity

Only a few square meters are required for installation. They are ideal solutions in situations such as revamps, where space can be extremely restrained. Installation costs are normally 50% lower than for shell-and-tubes.

Reductions on CAPEX and OPEX

Alfa Laval heat exchangers enable refineries to minimize both their CAPEX and OPEX. The smaller footprint and high efficiency requires less heat transfer area, which results in less material needed. Alfa Laval can offer much more economical solutions when high-grade alloys are required to avoid corrosion.

Solve fouling problems

Heat exchanger fouling is a huge problem in many refining processes, leading to losses of thermal efficiency, costly downtime and large maintenance expenses. Alfa Laval has the solution. Our spiral heat exchanger provides a unique self-cleaning process allowing much longer operating intervals. It reduces maintenance downtime and keeps a high thermal performance even under the most demanding conditions.

Solutions for high pressures and temperatures

Alfa Laval OLMI is a specialized manufacturer of shell-and-tubes and air coolers for high pressure and temperature, using stainless steel and other special alloys.

In refinery processes, very high pressure (above 100 Bar) and high temperature (above 400ºC) are very often involved, for instance on hydrocrackers, hydrogen units or hydrotreaters. In those situations which are outside the limits for compact heat exchangers, Alfa Laval offers OLMI shell-and-tubes (including Breech Lock and Rod baffles) and air coolers.  

What application are you interested in?

	Crude distillation unit (ADU/VDU) The heat exchangers on these units need to deliver high efficiency and operational reliability. With short payback times and eliminated corrosion, Alfa Laval heat exchangers offer a very low CAPEX and OPEX.   Crude distillation unit (ADU/VDU)
	Crude oil desalting  Are you having fouling problems during regeneration of the desalter? Alfa Laval has advanced, energy saving heat transfer solutions that are easy to clean, cut downtime and reduce maintenance costs.  Crude oil desalting
	Fluid catalytic cracking, FCC Whether it’s cooling of slurry oil or clarified slurry oil (CSO), Alfa Laval has advanced heat transfer solutions that recover maximum heat energy. Very easy to clean, they cut downtime and reduce maintenance costs.  Fluid catalytic cracking, FCC
	Hydrotreating / Hydrodesulfurization The Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchanger is the efficient way to optimize your hydrotreater. Alfa Laval Compabloc and spiral heat exchangers are suitable for the fractionation step and in the lower pressure section.  Hydrotreating / Hydrodesulfurization
	Catalytic reforming Heat exchange solutions for reactor product recovery. On the reactor side, Packinox offers superior efficiency and greater reliability. In the product recovery process, Compabloc offers compact maximum efficiency.  Catalytic reforming
	Visbreaking and heavy processes Eliminate fouling in heat transfer equipment, cut downtime and reduce maintenance costs. Self-cleaning, energy saving solutions recovering maximum heat energy from bottom residues in your sensitive processes.  Visbreaking and heavy processes
	Lube oil  Alfa Laval Compabloc and spiral compact heat exchangers can provide a clever solution for lube oil plants in refineries. Since gasket free, they are suitable for almost all demanding tasks.  Lube oil
	Amine treating Harsh conditions are no problem. Designed to minimize fouling and ensure long operation cycles, Alfa Laval heat exchangers ensure a high thermal performance with a small footprint.  Amine treating
	Sour water stripping Sour water stripping is a very corrosive process. The Alfa Laval compact heat exchangers are made of highly resistant materials with lower installation costs, ease of operation and less downtime as benefits.  Sour water stripping