Hot summer weather makes it hard for refineries to keep up with gasoline production demand, which pushed a large refinery to seek help for more peak capacity. Houston-based Carrier Rental Systems engineered a temporary cooling system that allowed the refinery to boost production from 50,000 to 55,000 bbl per day.

Carrier provided chilled water to the refinery’s existing heat exchangers as well as to a Carrier rental exchanger to cool reflux (gasoline). The rental system brought the gasoline temperature down to 65°F (18°C) from 95°F (35°C) and cooled the tower water to 45°F (7°C) from 95°F.

Because of the hazardous environment, the refinery used Carrier’s fleet of Class I, Division II, Group C and D chillers, cooling towers, exchangers and pumps. Carrier modified the chillers with a pressurization system, creating a self-contained environment. The additional cooling netted the customer between $10,000 and $20,000 per day, Carrier says.

For more information on the application, go to http://tinyurl.com/9ngmb35. For information on the rental company, go to www.carrierrentals.com.

Links