The Application Of Brazed Aluminum Heat Exchangers In Natural Gas Processing
Authors: Stahlheber W.H. 
Published: December 2007

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Compact brazed aluminum heat exchangers have been in use in low temperature gas separation and purification plants for over 12 years. The Trane Company developed large dip brazed aluminum heat exchanger cores for air separation plant applications and is today supplying this type of unit for a wide variety of low temperature process plant applications. Individual dip brazed cores are produced today containing over 16,000 sq. ft. of heat transfer surface.

Applications in gas to gas, partial condensing, gas chilling, and reflux condenser service are typical of natural gas plant applications. In order to best realize the high performance characteristics of brazed aluminum exchangers, their application should be included in early process design considerations rather than after a process has been fixed. Comparison of fin performance characteristics shows that careful selection of fin type is also important to the full utilization of brazed aluminum exchangers. Important advantages of brazed aluminum heat exchangers are compactness, lightweight, low cost, and application flexibility. Brazed aluminum heat exchangers are contributing to the improved design of modern low temperature gas processing plants which is bringing about ever increasing activity in this field.

Introduction

Increased activity in the field of low temperature natural gas processing has been emphasized in recent years by the successful commercial transportation of liquefied methane by tank ship, the U. S. Government Helium Conservation Program, renewed interest in liquefied gas storage facilities for distribution system peak shaving, and the removal of nitrogen from natural gas in the field to provide increased energy transport through existing gas pipelines. Along with intensive process design studies which have resulted in economically feasible systems, petroleum engineers have applied some of the technology and specialized equipment developed in recent years by the air separation industry.

One of the major areas of design improvement has been in the application of compact, highly efficient brazed aluminum heat exchangers. The design of these exchangers has evolved from lightweight aircraft heat exchangers developed during World War II into a highly specialized process heat exchanger used in every type of low temperature process plant.