Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Revamp study of crude distillation unit heat exchanger network:

Energy integration potential of delayed coking unit free hot streams
Vijaya Kumar Bulasara, Ramgopal Uppaluri *, Aloke Kumar Ghoshal
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 5 August 2008
Accepted 14 November 2008
Available online 27 November 2008
Keywords:
Heat exchanger network
Energy integration potential
CDU revamp
Minimum approach temperature
Delayed coking unit integration

a b s t r a c t
This work addresses the revamp study of the crude distillation unit (CDU) heat exchanger network (HEN)
of a typical renery with and without the consideration of the free hot streams available in the delayed
coking unit (DCU). Based on pinch design method, two sub-cases of revamp study have been considered
namely (a) installation of new heat exchangers for the entire network and (b) reutilization of existing
heat exchangers. Based on the study, it has been evaluated that the revamp design of existing CDU
HEN without considering the DCU free hot streams allows the enhancement of heat integration by
4.73% with respect to that available for the base case. On the other hand, the heat integration potential
of DCU free hot streams is evaluated to enhance energy integration by 15.66% (with respect to the base
case) with a simultaneous reduction of furnace duty by 37.1% and cooling water duties by 89.8%. Of various cases considered, the most attractive option corresponds to the partial revamp of CDU HEN along
with DCU free hot streams that involve the reutilization of existing heat exchangers. The protability
analysis of this option concludes that the revamp design needs an additional investment of 2.68 M$ to
enhance annual prot by 1.58 M$ with a payback period of 1.9 years. Thereby, the heat integration potential of DCU free hot streams is inferred to be signicant and marks an important choice amongst different
key revamp parameters associated to heat exchanger networks.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Integrated process engineering is one of the most important aspects to simultaneously enhance process efciency and reduce
costs. The utilization of heat exchanger networks to recover energy
from hot streams and energize cold streams that undergo further
processing is established in the process industries. Amongst various types of applications of heat exchanger networks, the case
for petroleum reneries is the most interesting in which one of
the primary objectives of energy integration is to maximize the target temperature of crude oil stream before entering the furnace,
which can drive reduction in furnace duties and maximization of
energy recovery from the hot product streams from various distillation units.
To further enhance energy integration (and hence process efciency), studies pertaining towards the retrot and revamp of heat
exchanger networks assume signicance. While grass root design of
crude distillation unit heat exchanger networks is an easy task to
accomplish, retrot and revamp design of heat exchanger network
involves challenges in evolving a network design with minimal

* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +91 361 2582260.

E-mail addresses: vijaya@iitg.ernet.in (V.K. Bulasara), ramgopalu@iitg.ernet.in
(R. Uppaluri).
1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2008.11.013

network changes, maximum energy recovery and minimum hot

and cold utility consumption.
Markowski [1] considered the base case CDU HEN constituting
17 hot streams, 4 cold streams, 18 heat integrated exchangers,
15 coolers and 1 heater that had a target temperature of 493 K
for the crude oil stream. Based on pinch based retrot design, the
authors reported a HEN with 19 heat integrated exchangers, 12
coolers and one heater along with the generation of steam with
an enhancement of 25% in energy integration. Al-Riyami et al. [2]
reported pinch based retrot analysis of HEN associated to Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process. The base case HEN constituted 23 hot and 11 cold streams of which 16 hot and 4 cold
streams were free streams that were not subjected to heat integration. The retrot design suggested by the authors involved the further heat integration of 3 more free hot streams and 3 more free
cold streams that resulted in about 74% of hot utility savings and
thereby 27% utility cost savings. Suggested modications included
the addition of four additional heat exchangers and re-piping of
one existing heat exchanger. Plesu et al. [3] reported the prominence of thermal coupling between CDU and DCU HEN and proposed that the thermal coupling enabled the CDU HEN to
generate medium pressure and low pressure steam of about 2.8
and 2.5 MW, respectively, due to which less utility requirement
were evident for the CDU HEN. The thermal coupling between
CDU and DCU was also proposed based on the topological

2272

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

Nomenclature
Symbol
C
CDU
CS
Cpavg
Cpin
Cpout
DTmin
DCU
F

H
HEN
HS
Q
Tin
Tout
Ts
Tt
$

Description
cooler
crude distillation unit
cold stream
average heat capacity, kJ/(kg K)
average heat capacity, kJ/(kg K)
average heat capacity, kJ/(kg K)
minimum approach temperature, K
delayed coking unit
ow rate, kg/s

modication of the DCU HEN. However, protability analysis had

not been reported to explore the economic benets of the suggested coupling. Yeap et al. [4] reported the retrot of CDU HEN
that targeted the minimization of fouling while maximizing energy
recovery. The authors studied a base case CDU HEN constituting
ve hot streams and one cold stream (the crude oil stream) that
had a target temperature of 526 K. Based on pinch based retrot
study, the authors were able to enhance the target temperature
of the crude oil to 551 K. Yoon et al. [5] retrotted the HEN of an
industrial ethyl benzene plant by pinch analysis and suggested that
the retrot HEN design can achieve an annual energy savings of
5.6%. Their work also reported the heat integration potential of a
free hot stream that was not integrated in the base case with any
of the cold streams.
Based on insights into several research articles outlined above
and into the topology of the CDU and DCU HEN, it is apparent to
visualize that the CDU does not possess free hot streams at desired
temperature levels that can further enhance heat integration abilities. On the other hand, DCU HEN is always less complex in its
topology and with or without retrot design of DCU HEN, it is always possible to identify free hot streams that can be subjected
to thermal coupling with the CDU. Further, it can be also visualized

heater/furnace
heat exchanger network
hot Stream
heat duty, kW
inlet temperature, K
outlet temperature, K
source temperature, K
target temperature, K
United States dollar (USD)

that the integration potential of free hot streams has not been
demonstrated in literatures for CDU HEN. In addition, it is also evident that many cases considered retrot design option rather than
revamp design option.
The objective of this work is to evaluate the heat integration potential of free hot streams available in the DCU section of the renery and analyze their protability when subjected to thermal
coupling with the CDU along with revamp study. Unlike many literatures that reported the generation of steam by furthering heat
integration in CDU HEN by retrot/revamp study, this work aims
to maximize the target temperature of the crude oil stream, thereby promoting reduction in furnace duties.
The next section presents the stream data for the base case CDU
HEN and the available free hot streams from the DCU section of a
typical renery. Various methodologies followed in this work to
realize revamp studies are presented in Section 3 followed by results and discussion in Section 4 and conclusions in Section 5.
2. Stream data
Fig. 1 presents the heat exchanger network for the crude distillation unit of a typical Indian renery, corresponding to a rening

Fig. 1. Existing CDU heat exchanger network.

333.3
345.6
363.3
382
399
411.6
426
468
480
491
509
433.7
471
513.6
486
512
518.9
403
396
309.5
312.8
313.2
320.7
312.7
638
1.987

2.113

2.284
2.314

2.582

2.720

2.724

2.720

4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184

327
333.3
345.6
363
382
395
412
425.7
468
480
490.7
395
434
470.7
460
486
512
313
378
303
303
303
303
303
518.9

Cpavg (kJ/(kg K))

Tout (K)
F (kg/s)

(a) Total revamp of existing CDU HEN (option i).

(b) Partial revamp of existing CDU HEN (option ii).

Tin (K)

Cpout (kJ/(kg K))

The revamp study has been conducted for the following cases.Case A: CDU revamp without free DCU hot streams

1.958

2.050

2.243
2.247

2.368

2.644

2.548

2.699

4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184

Cold process streams

3.1. Cases considered

Cpin (kJ/(kg K))

3. Revamp design methodology

43.103
43.103
43.103
43.103
43.103
21.551
21.551
21.551
21.551
21.551
21.551
21.552
21.552
21.552
37.515
37.515
37.515
5.506
3.591
7.639
19.861
15.278
10.369
9.167
37.515

capacity of 1 MMTPA. The target temperature of the crude oil

stream is 519 K. Corresponding stream data of all heat integrated
exchangers and coolers are presented in Table 1. The analysis of
the existing CDU HEN indicates that the total energy integrated
is 25.95 MW with a total cold utility of 2.81 MW and hot utility
of 18.12 MW that corresponds to 55.35% of total heat integrated
in the network. The hot utility for the considered case corresponds
to a furnace fed with a mixture of fuel oil and fuel gas whose process efciency is 89.5%.
Table 2 presents the free hot streams chosen from DCU section
of the same renery that are not subjected to heat integration and
that are undergoing cooling through cold utility (process water).
The source temperatures of these streams are reduced by 5 K in order to realize losses due to transportation from the DCU section to
the CDU section of the renery. Overall stream data for all the cases
is shown in Table 3.

2273

2.013
2.017
2.117
2.100
1.477
2.284
2.351
2.460
2.427
2.648
2.682
2.326
2.623
2.590
2.573
2.573
2.741
1.736
2.644
4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184
4.184
4.054

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

2.251
2.146
2.238
2.406
2.330
2.464
2.464
2.598
2.648
2.648
2.908
2.423
2.611
2.874
2.632
2.724
2.979
2.360
2.117
1.950
2.146
1.992
2.264
1.958

373
355
358
403
389
446.4
438
457
487
516
569
437
463
514
502
532
593
341
392
313
348
318
318
318

2.218

2.042

2.284
2.389

2.498

2.887

2.703

2.966

389
403
446.4
472
438
487
457
514
516
545
593
463
489
569
532
561
608.7
436
413
341
373
358
355
381

2.238

2.389

2.402
2.548

2.703

2.966

2.887

3.017

Cpin (kJ/(kg K))

Q (MW)

0.546
1.069
1.616
1.720
1.732
0.817
0.709
2.243
0.628
0.628
1.058
1.941
2.092
2.394
2.510
2.510
0.709
0.860
0.171
0.209
0.814
0.651
0.767
0.372
18.123

Ex. No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
20
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
H1

Table 1
CDU base case HEN data.

Design calculations pertaining to various heat exchangers suggested by the pinch energy targets are carried out using an iterative algorithm [8] developed for shell-and-tube heat exchangers
using Kerns method [9] to which average uid properties such
as density, viscosity, thermal conductivity of various streams evaluated at their caloric temperatures are provided. Along with the
average uid properties, the iterative algorithm input includes
stream ow rates, inlet and outlet temperatures and exchanger
specications such as tube pitch, bafe arrangement, tube diameter, length and thickness. The iterative algorithm involves
improvement in the shell diameter until necessary design constraints are satised.

Area (m2)

3.2. Heat exchanger area evaluation

F (kg/s)

Hot process streams

Tin (K)

Cpout (kJ/(kg K))

Tout (K)

For all cases, pinch design method [6] constituting grand composite curve (GCC) for evaluation of utility targets followed by network design, above and below the pinch is adopted. Initially, the
GCCs have been generated using THEN program [7] which are later
veried manually. Since the program fails to generate network
solutions due to problem complex, network design procedures
have been implemented manually adopting traditional pinch design methodology. For all cases, the obtained hot utility and cold
utility from network design are matched with those available from
the GCC to realize a feasible HEN design.
While total revamp study involves the evaluation of heat exchanger areas for all exchangers suggested by the pinch design
method, their costs and subsequent protability analysis, the partial revamp study directs to maximize the re-utilization of existing
heat exchangers for the suggested network design and procurement of new exchangers for those exchangers whose heat transfer
area deviation is more than 20% with respect to the areas of different existing heat exchangers.

15.154
10.369
8.168
10.369
15.154
8.168
15.154
15.154
8.168
8.168
15.154
30.815
30.815
15.154
31.778
31.778
15.154
3.836
3.839
3.836
15.154
8.168
9.167
3.014

(a) Total revamp of CDU HEN (option iii).

(b) Partial revamp of CDU HEN (option iv).

37.1
151.0
111.1
93.9
320.3
33.4
151.0
202.4
82.9
149.0
44.9
302.0
151.0
168.0
188.0
188.0
28.6
45.2
89.7
53.5
338.0
253.0
89.7
149.0

Cpavg (kJ/(kg K))

Case B: CDU revamp with free DCU hot streams

2274

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

Table 2
Free streams considered for the evaluation of heat integration potential.

700

Flow rate (kg/s)

Ts (K)

Tt (K)

Cpavg (kJ/(kg K))

HS 8
HS 9

1.146
1.896

565
693

373
373

2.720
2.636

Table 3
Data for CDU Revamp with and without DCU free streams.

600
550
500
450
400
350

Stream

Type

Flow rate (kg/s)

Ts (K)

Tt (K)

Cpavg (kJ/(kg K))

HS 1
HS 2
HS 3
HS 4
HS 5
HS 6
HS 7
HS 8
HS 9
CS 1
CS 2
CS 3
CS 4
CS 5

Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Hot
Cold
Cold
Cold
Cold
Cold

3.014
10.369
8.168
31.778
30.815
15.154
3.836
1.146
1.896
43.103
43.103
37.515
4.235
3.839

413
472
545
561
489
608.7
436
565
693
327
395
460
313
368

318
318
318
502
437
348
313
373
373
399
511
638
403
390

2.171
2.226
2.339
2.678
2.519
2.582
2.268
2.720
2.636
2.155
2.502
3.573
2.255
2.473

300
0

10

12

14

16

Enthalpy (MW)
Fig. 2. Grand composite curve for the CDU HEN revamp design without DCU free
streams (DTmin = 13.2 K).

*Hot streams HS 8 and HS 9 are considered only for the HEN revamp design case
with DCU free streams.

3.3. Protability analysis

Based on Guthries correlation [10], the cost of various heat
exchangers is evaluated as follows. The Updated Bare Module Cost
(or) Capital Cost is evaluated using the expression:

BMC UFBCMPF MF  1

Temperature (K)

650

Stream

ature of 466.6 K. From the grand composite curve, the minimum

hot and cold utility requirements are known to be 15.14 and
1.43 MW, respectively. Based on pinch technology, network designs obtained above and below the pinch are presented in Fig. 3.
The heat exchanger network constitutes sixteen (nineteen for the
base case) integrated heat exchangers, four (ve for the base case)
coolers and one heater. Based on the network design, the hot utility
requirement is 15.14 MW and total cold utility requirement is
1.66 MW which are above and closely located to the values suggested by the GCC. The revamp design illustrates that the total heat
integrated increases to 27.18 MW (with 25.95 MW for the base
case design) with the nal crude oil target temperature to 532 K,
which corresponds to an increase of about 13 K with respect to
the crude stream target temperature of the base case. The net annual prot suggested by the CDU revamp design choice without
inclusion of DCU free streams is 0.78 M$ that corresponds to a
reduction of furnace utility by 18.4% with respect to the base case.

where
PCI
UF: update factor = BCI
BC: base cost = C o SSo 1
MPF: material and pressure factor (=1.00 for ordinary materials of
construction)
MF: module factor (=3.29)
S: surface area, m2
PCI: present cost index (=1399 in the year 2007) [11]
BCI: base cost index (=280 in the year 1969)
Co: base cost corresponding to So (=$5000 in the year 1969 for
So = 37.16 m2)
a: exponent factor (=0.65)

The equipment cost for the exchanger is evaluated using the

expression:

Equipment cost UF  BC

The protability analysis is conducted using straight line depreciation approach [12] with 8% annual compound interest and 20%
salvage value. For all existing heat exchangers, the life span is taken as 5 years and for all new exchangers, the life span is taken
as 15 years.

4.1.2. Protability analysis

4.1.2.1. Total revamp. Capital investment needed for the total revamp scheme that accommodates all (twenty) new heat exchangers is 4.01 M$. Sizing and costing data of all the heat exchangers
involved in the network along with their areas is presented in Table 4. The payback period obtained from the year-wise prot analysis is 6.9 years.
4.1.2.2. Partial revamp. Based on the adopted partial revamp methodology outlined earlier, the case explores the maximization of the
utilization of existing heat exchangers. Upon heat exchanger process design calculations followed by analysis to match with the
areas available for various exchangers, it has been found that fteen existing heat exchangers can be reused and only ve new
exchangers need to be purchased. Sizing and costing data evaluated from design and protability analysis are presented in Table
5. For all existing exchangers that have been subjected to area
modication, only installation cost is considered but not the equipment cost where as for all exchangers that have been suggested for
purchase, both installation and equipment costs have been considered. Based on these studies, the total capital cost of all exchangers
(including area modication and purchase) is evaluated to be
1.40 M$ that suggests a payback period of 2.1 years.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Case A: CDU revamp without free DCU hot streams
4.1.1. Network design
The GCC for the chosen case is shown in Fig. 2 which refers to a
minimum approach temperature of 13.2 K (the value that provides
lowest utility targets and a balanced GCC) having a pinch temper-

4.1.3. Summary
The CDU HEN revamp design study without the consideration of
heat integration using free DCU hot process streams infers that that
maximum crude stream target temperature is 532 K that allows the
saving of furnace duty by 18.36% and annual savings of 0.78 M$. This
option is considered to explore the integration potential of the CDU
HEN streams. While partial revamp appears attractive with 1.40 M$

2275

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

Fig. 3. Heat exchanger network revamp design without additional free hot streams from DCU.

Table 4
Sizing and costing data of various heat exchangers for total CDU HEN revamp without
DCU free hot streams (option i).
Exchanger

Area (m2)

Base cost ($)

Equipment cost ($)

Total cost ($)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
C1
C2
C3
C4
Total cost ($)

24.90
302.59
9.58
123.52
192.47
259.50
365.79
474.47
22.02
128.31
89.70
45.20
22.02
391.16
338.02
159.91
149.00
64.64
140.28
45.86

3854
19542
2071
10916
14563
17685
22106
26179
3559
11189
8866
5679
3559
23091
21000
12910
12331
7165
11857
5733

19250
97611
10344
54524
72741
88335
110418
130761
17776
55888
44285
28366
17776
115339
104895
64486
61590
35788
59223
28634
1218028

63333
321139
34033
179382
239317
290621
363277
430204
58481
183871
145698
93321
58481
379465
345104
212159
202632
117745
194845
94205
4007313

of further investment which can be paid back in 2.1 years, the total
revamp option appears to be difcult to achieve with a total investment of 4.01 M$ and payback period of 6.9 years.
4.2. Case B: CDU revamp with DCU hot streams
4.2.1. Network design
The GCC for the chosen case is shown in Fig. 4 which refers to a
minimum approach temperature of 5.8 K. The lower value of minimum approach temperature has been chosen in the case study to
demonstrate maximum reduction in existing utilities and drive
maximum heat integration efciency. The pinch temperature for
the design instance is about 462.9 K. It is interesting to note here that

Table 5
Sizing and costing data of (a) replaced old exchangers and (b) new exchangers for
partial CDU HEN revamp without DCU free hot streams (option ii).
Exchanger

(a)
1
2
4
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
16
C1
C2
C3
C4
Total cost
($)
Exchanger

Area
required
A (m2)

Area
available
A0 (m2)

A  A0
(m2)

Equipment
cost ($)

Installation
cost ($)

Total
cost ($)

24.90
302.59
123.52
192.47
259.50
365.79
22.02
128.31
89.70
45.20
159.91
53.82
64.64
140.28
45.86

23.41
302.00
149.00
188.00
253.00
338.00
28.20
151.00
89.70
45.20
167.98
53.50
82.90
151.00
44.91

1.49
0.59
25.48
4.47
6.50
27.79
6.18
22.69
0.00
0.00
8.07
0.32
18.26
10.72
0.95

3082
1688
0
6304
8041
20675
0
0
0
0
0
1136
0
0
2304

7058
38664
2500
14435
18413
47346
2500
2500
0
0
2500
2601
2500
2500
5276

10140
5555
2500
20738
26454
68021
2500
2500
0
0
2500
3737
2500
2500
7579
157224

(b)
3
8
13
14
15
Total cost ($)

Area, A (m2)

Equipment
cost ($)

Installation
cost ($)

Total
cost ($)

9.58
474.47
22.02
391.16
338.02

10344
130761
17776
115339
104895

23689
299443
40706
264126
240209

34033
430204
58481
379465
345104
1243550

*Exchangers with zero total cost indicate usage of old (existing) exchangers in the
new design.

the GCC of the CDU revamp case without DCU hot streams indicated
much higher minimum approach temperature (13.2 K). This is due to
the fact that a balanced GCC curve is not obtained for temperatures
lower than the chosen approach temperature for that case.

2276

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

Table 6
Sizing and costing data of different heat exchangers for CDU HEN total revamp with
additional DCU free hot streams (option iii).

750

Temperature (K)

700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
0

10

12

14

Enthalpy (MW)
Fig. 4. Grand composite curve for the CDU HEN revamp design with DCU free
streams (DTmin = 5.8 K).

Based on the GCC, the minimum hot and cold utility requirements are known to be 12.09 and 0.76 MW, respectively. These
values are much lower than those indicated by the GCC of the
CDU revamp design without DCU free streams (Fig. 2). Network designs obtained above and below the pinch are presented in Fig. 5.
As shown, the network consists of twenty-eight (nineteen for the
base case) integrated heat exchangers, four (ve for the base case)
coolers and one heater with the hot utility (design) is 12.10 MW
and cold utility (design) is 0.98 MW. These values when compared
to those obtained from the GCC are closely located and above the
values from the GCC. The revamp design illustrates that the total
heat integrated has increases to 30.02 MW (with 25.95 MW for
the base case design) with the nal crude oil target temperature
to 553.3 K which corresponds to an increase of 34.3 K with respect
to the crude temperature of the base case. The net annual prot
suggested by the CDU revamp design choice with inclusion of

Exchanger

Area (m2)

Base cost ($)

Equipment cost ($)

Total cost ($)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
C1
C2
C3
C4
Total cost ($)

31.60
91.92
338.98
73.73
136.93
178.58
256.63
92.88
52.19
611.40
327.80
14.84
234.60
699.50
147.46
110.60
51.23
244.66
282.00
107.73
136.93
89.53
45.00
237.00
441.91
27.29
123.53
71.82
34.95
36.39
123.53
45.96

4500
9008
21039
7805
11672
13871
17557
9069
6235
30869
20585
2753
16562
33692
12248
10159
6160
17021
18667
9987
11672
8855
5662
16672
24997
4091
10916
7673
4805
4932
10916
5741

22477
44995
105089
38987
58300
69284
87699
45300
31144
154189
102822
13753
82729
168288
61176
50744
30771
85018
93241
49883
58300
44230
28284
83277
124857
20434
54524
38325
23999
24636
54524
28674
1979947

73949
148032
345742
128264
191806
227945
288529
149035
102464
507283
338286
45245
272177
553669
201268
166947
101235
279708
306762
164114
191807
145519
93052
273981
410779
67228
179382
126091
78956
81051
179382
94338
6514025

DCU free streams is 1.58 M$ that corresponds to a reduction of furnace utility by 37% with respect to the base case.

Fig. 5. Heat exchanger network for CDU revamp with additional free hot streams from the DCU.

2277

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

4.2.2. Protability analysis

4.2.2.1. Total revamp. Sizing and costing data of all the heat
exchangers involved in the network along with their areas are presented in Table 6. The total capital investment needed for the total
revamp scheme that accommodates all new heat exchangers is
6.51 M$ which corresponds to a payback period of 5.3 years.
4.2.2.2. Partial revamp. The partial revamp HEN design for the case
of CDU streams supplemented with DCU free hot streams suggests
that about twenty one heat exchangers can be reused from those
that are available in the base case network, and eleven heat
exchangers need to be purchased. Table 7 presents the sizing and
costing of various modied and new heat exchangers. Based on
these studies, the total capital cost of all exchangers is evaluated
to be 2.68 M$ that suggests a payback period of 1.9 years.
4.2.3. Summary
The CDU HEN revamp design study considering the integration
of DCU free hot process streams provides huge dividends. Though
the DCU free hot streams total energy content (2.20 MW) is not
quite high, the consideration of DCU free hot streams has reduced
the hot utility requirement from 18.12 MW (base case) to
12.10 MW with the hot utility (design) for CDU revamp without

consideration of DCU free hot streams being 15.14 MW. In other

words, though the net heat content of the DCU hot streams is about
2.20 MW, an additional 0.83 MW has been possible to be integrated due to the adjustment of temperature levels associated to
both inclusion of DCU free hot streams and reduction in the minimum approach temperature. This is also reected in the reduction
of cold utility requirement by 89.1%, which is attractive to drive the
network towards maximizing energy recovery and minimizing energy loss. It is further important to note here that the reduction in
the minimum approach temperature of a balanced GCC is possible
only due to the inclusion of the DCU free hot streams. In other
words, the heat integration potential of DCU free hot streams in
the CDU HEN is twofold namely (a) providing energy required for
the network at the desired levels and (b) furthering additional heat
integration by reducing the minimum approach temperature.
The best alternative choice of the revamp design is indicated by
the partial revamp design that suggested a prot of 1.58 M$, net
investment of 2.68 M$ with a payback period of 1.9 years. The distribution of various incentives from revamp design choice with and
without additional free hot streams from DCU is presented in
Fig. 6. Total investment, annual prot and payback period for all
the cases are compared in Fig. 7.
4.3. Impact of HEN design parameters on heat integration potential of
DCU free hot streams

Table 7
Sizing and costing data of (a) replaced old exchangers and (b) new exchangers for
partial CDU HEN revamp with DCU free hot streams (option iv).
Exchanger

(a)
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
11
15
16
18
19
21
22
23
24
26
28
C2
C4
Total cost
($)
Exchanger
(b)
4
10
12
13
14
17
20
25
27
C1
C3
Total cost
($)
*

Area
required
A (m2)

Area
available
A0 (m2)

A  A0
(m2)

Equipment
cost ($)

Installation
cost ($)

Total
cost
($)

31.60
91.92
338.98
136.93
178.58
256.63
92.88
52.19
327.80
147.46
110.60
244.66
282.00
136.93
89.53
45.00
237.00
27.29
71.82
36.39
45.96

33.41
100.06
338.00
151.00
188.00
270.03
93.90
53.50
320.30
149.00
111.08
253.00
302.00
151.00
89.53
45.00
253.00
28.62
82.90
37.12
45.96

1.81
8.14
0.98
14.07
9.42
13.40
1.02
1.31
7.50
1.54
0.48
8.34
20.00
14.07
0.00
0.00
16.00
1.33
11.08
0.73
0.00

0*
0*
2351
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
8825
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*

250
2500
5384
2500
2500
2500
250
250
20210
250
250
2500
2500
2500
0
0
2500
250
2500
250
0

250
2500
7735
2500
2500
2500
250
250
29035
250
250
2500
2500
2500
0
0
2500
2500
2500
250
0
63270

Area, A
(m2)

Equipment cost
($)

Installation cost
($)

Total cost
($)

73.73
611.40
14.84
234.60
699.50
51.23
107.73
441.91
123.53
34.95
123.53

38987
154189
13753
82729
168288
30771
49883
124857
54524
23999
54524

89279
353093
31493
189448
385381
70464
114231
285922
124859
54958
124859

128264
507283
45245
272177
553669
101235
164114
410779
179382
78956
179382
2620487

Exchangers with zero total cost indicate usage of old (existing) exchangers in the
new design.

As is outlined in the previous section where the CDU HEN revamp network design with the inclusion of the DCU free hot
streams is presented, the DCU free hot streams possess 100% heat
integration potential and the net heat possessed by the DCU free

Heat Integration
Enhancement,
4.7%
Hot Utility
Savings, 18.4%

Cold Utility
Savings, 45.7%

Heat Integration
Enhancement,
15.7%
Hot Utility
Savings, 37.1%

Cold Utility
Savings, 89.8%
Fig. 6. Percent enhancement in utility savings and heat integration potential for
CDU revamp (a) without DCU free hot streams and (b) with DCU free hot streams.

2278

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

Investment

Annual Profit

6.51

Amount (M$)

4.01
4
2.68
2

1.58

1.58

Option (iii)

Option (iv)

1.40
0.78

0.78

0
Option (i)

Payback Period (years)

Option (ii)

8
7

6.9

5.3

5
4
3

2.1

1.9

2
1
0
Option (i)

Option (ii)

Option (iii)

Option (iv)

Fig. 7. (a) Investment and prot and (b) payback period for different CDU HEN revamp case studies.

hot streams is competent to act as a perfect sink involving complete transfer of heat. However, it is important to note in this regard that the minimum approach temperature for the design
case is 5.8 K, which is quite different from the value chosen for
the CDU HEN revamp design without considering DCU free hot
streams (DTmin = 13.2 K). Henceforth, it is important to provide
physical insights into the net heat gained through various competent choices such as revamping, reduction of DTmin and additional
heat gained through reduction in cold utility.
Based on the GCC, Table 8 presents the effect of DTmin for various cases (with and without the inclusion of DCU free hot streams)
to evaluate the reduction in hot utility and cold utility of the base
case CDU HEN considered. As presented, for the case of
DTmin = 13.2 K and CDU HEN revamp without DCU streams, the
hot utility reduced from 18.12 MW to 15.14 MW and cold utility
reduced from 2.81 MW to 1.43 MW. However, with the inclusion
of DCU streams, at the same DTmin value, the cold utility increased
to 1.89 MW involving an additional 0.46 MW. Since the case refers
to the same minimum approach temperature, the hike in the cold

utility is inferred to be due to the incompetence of certain temperature levels of the DCU free hot streams to provide 100% energy
integration. Based on this inference, the DCU free hot streams have
been evaluated to provide only 79.16% of the net heat possessed by
them for energy integration purposes. On the other hand, the case
of CDU revamp design with DCU streams at a DTmin = 5.8 K corresponds to a reduction of cold utility further to a value of
0.76 MW and hot utility to 12.08 MW. The variation of integration
potential of free DCU hot streams with DTmin has been studied.
Fig. 8 presents a graph that depicts the maximum heat integration
potential of DCU free hot streams as a function of DTmin. As shown,
the graph involves a at straight line from 5.8 K to 10.27 K, after
which the maximum heat integration potential decreases with
increasing temperature. Such graphs are anticipated to play further
an important role in the analysis and revamp studies of heat exchanger networks with limited choices of additional streams.
Further, the DTmin = 10.27 K indicating the maximum value of
the minimum approach temperature that can ensure 100% heat
integration of the net heat possessed by the DCU streams.

Table 8
Impact of DTmin on various signicant network design parameters for different case.
S.
No.

Case

Minimum approach
temperature (K)

Additional streams net

heat (MW)

Hot utility
(MW)

Reduction in hot
utility (MW)

Cold utility
(MW)

Reduction in cold
utility (MW)

1
2

Base case
CDU revamp without
DCU streams
CDU revamp with DCU
streams
CDU revamp with DCU
streams
CDU revamp with DCU
streams

13.2

18.123
15.144

3.083

2.814
1.432

1.382

13.2

2.198

13.269

4.853

1.890

0.924

10.27

2.198

12.811

5.311

1.432

1.382

5.8

2.198

12.086

6.037

0.760

2.054

3
4
5

% Energy Integration Potential of DCU

free hot streams

V.K. Bulasara et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 22712279

2279

reduction. Heat integration from other hot streams is about

11.3% and the contribution of reducing minimum approach temperature is 3%. On the other hand, for the case of DTmin = 10.27 K,
the revamp contribution is about 57% and DCU hot streams contribution is about 40.3% and the contribution of minimum approach
temperature is about 3%.

100
95
90
85

5. Conclusions
80
75
70
5

10

11

12

13

14

T min (K)
Fig. 8. Impact of minimum approach temperature on the % energy integration
potential of DCU free hot streams.

Contribution of
Cold streams Tmin
3%
Contribution
11%

Revamp
Contribution
51%
DCU hot streams
Contribution
35%

Contribution of
Tmin
3%

The comparative revamp design choices for various cases considered in this work are presented in Table 7. The CDU HEN revamp design with two additional free hot streams from DCU
indicates that it is indeed possible to enhance the crude stream
target temperature by more than 30 K and thereby reduce furnace costs (and hence CO2 emissions). Further, plant layout aspects are not taken into account while selecting the revamp
solution. In addition, all exchangers have been designed as classical shell and tube heat exchangers, though there have been few
cases where the temperature difference between the hot and
cold streams is too low to realize such design. Since the approach illustrated in this work involves conceptual design approaches, the impact of heat exchanger selection during design
procedures on network economics and payout period is anticipated to be insignicant. As suggested through these case studies, this work demonstrates the relevance of the consideration of
DCU free hot streams in CDU revamp and retrot design choices.
As such the DCU section of the renery consists of many hot
streams that may not be explored further for heat integration
and from a topological point of view heat integration requirements within the DCU are limited. Thereby, it has also been
emphasized here that revamp design studies are important to
consider as they explore the potential of maximizing heat integration without considering options such as debottlenecking
and increase in the plant production capacity. It is anticipated
that a well organized heat integration of DCU and CDU in the
renery can further extend the economic competitiveness of
the renery processes in the light of raising crude oil prices
and concerns on global CO2 emissions in a globalized and energy
demanding world.
References

DCU hot
streams
Contribution
40%

Revamp
Contribution
57%

Fig. 9. Percentage contribution of various components in driving hot utility

reduction with respect to the hot utility for the CDU HEN base case (a) CDU HEN
revamp with DCU free hot streams and DTmin = 5.8 K and (b) CDU HEN revamp with
DCU free hot streams and DTmin = 10.27 K.

Based on these evaluations, the data is further analyzed and

percentage contributions of various components in reducing hot
utility are evaluated and are presented in the form of pie charts
in Fig. 9 for the CDU HEN revamp design with DCU free hot streams
at DTmin = 5.8 K and DTmin = 10.27 K. As outlined in the gure, for
the case of DTmin = 5.8 K, the contribution of revamp design in
reducing hot utility contributes about half of the total reduction
with the DCU hot streams contributing to an additional 35.4%

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