B
razed aluminium heat exchangers (BAHXs), also referred to
Doug Ducote,
as plate fin heat exchangers, are at the heart of many of Joe Belling and
the processes used for the liquefaction of natural gas. They Paul Shields,
are deployed across the world on plants of all sizes, from
world-scale base-load facilities down to facilities that produce Chart Industries Inc.,
much smaller quantities of LNG for local use. They are also proven, USA, explore how
both onshore and offshore. This article will explain how the
characteristics of BAHXs are instrumental in the development of
brazed aluminium heat
standard and modular plant solutions that have enabled small and exchangers optimise
mid scale LNG to become economically feasible. processes for natural
What is a BAHX and how does it work? gas liquefaction.
BAHXs are highly efficient, custom designed compact heat
exchange devices that offer distinct advantages vs other heat
characteristics of BAHXs, and especially those that make
them pertinent for cryogenic processes, are still not widely
understood, hence articles of this nature typically require
an introduction.
Construction
The principal components of a BAHX are: parting sheets
(primary heat transfer surface); fins (secondary heat transfer
surface); and side bars (pressure retaining wall). The
components are stacked in an alternating pattern of hot vs
cold.
The key to bonding the structure together is the brazing
process. An aluminium alloy is applied to the surface of the
Figure 1. A BAHX complete with manifolds and parting sheet. Once the core is stacked and heated in the
flanged terminations. vacuum brazing furnace, the alloy melts, whetting the
surface of adjacent components. When cooled, the alloy
returns to solid state, effectively sealing the components
together.
A major milestone in the development of BAHX
occurred in the 1980s with the introduction of vacuum
brazing, which replaced the previous salt bath process.
Vacuum brazing has enabled manufacturers to develop the
size, complexity and upper pressure limits of the plate fin
units needed in industry today.
Heat transfer within the BAHX takes place almost
entirely through convection between the fluid and metal
surfaces.
BAHXs are generally oriented with the warm end up.
This is a preferred arrangement for process efficiency and
also affords reduced thermal stresses during shutdown as it
prevents cryogenic fluids flowing to warmer surfaces.
There are four main fin types that provide the
secondary heat transfer surface. They are one of the main
contributors of the high thermal efficiency of BAHXs.
Plain fins are typically used in the distributor section,
where the fluids are moved and turned from the inlet ports
into the heat transfer section. Perforated, herringbone and
serrated fins are used in the heat transfer section and their
primary function is to break up the boundary layer of the
fluids as they move through the unit. The boundary layer is
Figure 2. BAHX components and nomenclature. essentially resistant to heat transfer, so the more often that
is broken up, the more effective the heat transfer surface
will be. However, this also results in more pressure drop,
exchanger types. They are manufactured as an all brazed hence the skill of the design engineer is to find the optimal
and welded pressure vessel with no mechanical joints and balance between thermal and hydraulic performance and,
are designed in accordance with major pressure vessel at the same time, ensure that the mechanical design
codes across the world. BAHXs are applied in a variety of requirements are met.
cryogenic and non-cryogenic heat transfer applications, To illustrate the compactness of the BAHX for natural
ranging from LNG production, industrial gas production, gas liquefaction, the design provides a heat transfer area
petrochemical and hydrocarbon processing, as well as density of approximately 1000 – 1500 m2/m3, which is
hydrogen and helium liquefaction. Given their high surface 6 – 10 times greater than a coil wound heat exchanger and
area, compactness and the high heat transfer capability at least 20 times greater than conventional shell-and-tube
that is inherent to aluminium, BAHXs are a cost-effective technology. This characteristic advantage of a BAHX,
solution for processing non-corrosive liquids and gases. coupled with the enhanced heat transfer performance of
Originally adapted from aerospace applications shortly aluminium plate fin construction and optimised heat
after World War 2, BAHXs were commercially deployed in transfer fin designs, results in 25 – 50% lower costs and
cryogenic air separation processes during the 1950s and first substantially lower weight.
used for the liquefaction of natural gas in the 1970s. Today, When process UA requirements exceed what can be
there are tens of thousands of units in operation across the delivered in a single core block, several BAHXs can be piped
world. However, despite such extensive use, the or manifolded together in parallel or series to
Reprinted from October 2017 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
accommodate nearly unlimited flow or duty requirements. technology enables application of pinch technology along
BAHXs are generally supplied in a carbon steel modular with all the energy minimising benefits. This feature
structure called a cold box for ease of insulation, support significantly reduces installation and operation costs,
and installation. engineering, insulation, support systems, testing,
The flexibility of BAHXs allows for multiple heat documentation, transportation and site arrangements.
exchange services (10 or more streams in a single block) to Key features of a BAHX include the following:
be combined into a single compact application. BAHX nn Multi-stream capability: meaning that the entire
cooling requirement can be contained in a single unit
or a series of single units manifolded in parallel for
larger plants.
nn Aluminium’s greater thermal conductivity compared to
steel. Aluminium also gets stronger at cold
temperatures.
nn Increased thermal efficiency through tight approach
temperatures.
nn Hydraulic performance, which affords excellent turn
down capability.
nn High heat transfer surface area per unit volume.
BAHXs in the liquefaction process
Aluminium plate fin exchangers offer advantages in most
LNG processes. Minimising power consumption (or
Figure 3. Fin types: top left, serrated; top right,
maximising LNG production for a selected
plain; bottom left, plain perforted; bottom right,
herringbone (wavy). turbine/compressor model) is a key design criterion for
liquefaction processes, creating an inherent requirement for
highly efficient heat exchange. Process efficiency is gained
by minimising temperature approach between the hot and
cold streams. As the temperature approach decreases, the
required surface area increases. As such, the heat exchanger
of choice must offer high surface area economically, as can
be accomplished with a BAHX.
There are several refrigeration cycle configurations that
can be utilised to liquefy natural gas, but this article will
principally focus on two: nitrogen cycle and mixed
refrigerant cycle. Each cycle has its advantages and
disadvantages when evaluated for use in a specific
application. Designers tend to study the trade-offs
between power consumption and equipment utilisation.
This analysis allows them to optimise the liquefier for the
total plant cost (capital plus operating costs). Comparison
of operating costs should focus on the energy consumption
Figure 4. An LNG cold box being raised into position. of the refrigeration system, as the balance of plant should
be essentially the same for all processes.
BAHXs in nitrogen cycle liquefaction
processes
Nitrogen cycles are simple to operate and eliminate the
need to use and store hydrocarbons as refrigerants. They
offer advantages to operators that do not want to spend
capital and energy to extract their hydrocarbon refrigerants
from the treated feed gas and are ideally suited to remote
areas that do not have easy access to hydrocarbons for
refrigerants. However, simplification comes at the expense
of higher specific energy consumption.
Consequently, the nitrogen cycle process is a good fit
for small scale LNG when bringing LNG to market quickly is
a key driver for project success. The liquefaction
technology and design flexibility of BAHXs are entirely
Figure 5. Nitrogen cycle process scheme. consistent with standard plant solutions, which entails
HYDROCARBON Reprinted from October 2017
ENGINEERING
BAHXs allows for scaling heat transfer requirements
from a single exchanger to multiple exchangers
connected in parallel. Because the designer has the
ability to manage heat transfer and pressure drop and
solve two-phase complexities in multi-BAHX trains, it
makes them the ideal solution for the entire range of
small and mid scale MR process capacities.
Design validation
To ensure the robustness of the BAHX for LNG
applications, state-of-the-art software is coupled with
in-house engineering expertise and experience to
perform advanced transient thermal analyses. Chart has
Figure 6. IPSMR® mixed refrigerant process technology
scheme. developed proprietary in-house transient thermal
analysis software that can utilise operating data or
dynamic simulation process data to determine the
maximising equipment, including BAHXs, with a fixed design for a internal fluid and metal heat exchanger temperatures
portfolio of capacities. and the associated thermal stresses imparted on the
BAHXs offer a distinct advantage when a nitrogen cycle is exchanger. These analyses can be carried forward to
employed as they allow for tighter approach temperatures, which predict potential fatigue damage and life expectancy of
enable increased cycle efficiency and lower power consumption. the equipment. Dynamic simulation is used to simulate
The compact design and multi-stream capability allows the BAHX operation of the BAHX and plant upset conditions to
to contain the entire cooling requirement in a single exchanger ensure process technologies are designed with proper
service. This significantly reduces plot space requirements and controls to mitigate situations that introduce thermal
eliminates the need for interconnecting piping between multiple stresses.
pieces of heat exchange equipment.
Nominally, a standard liquefaction plant solution incorporating The cold box
nitrogen cycle technology is suited to small scale plants producing The cold box has traditionally been dismissed as a
between 60 000 and 250 000 gal./d of LNG. carbon steel enclosure that houses a BAHX or, more
typically, a series of BAHX units. However, with an
BAHXs in mixed refrigerant liquefaction processes increased drive towards maximum prefabrication for
As plant capacities increase, most technologists recommend a minimised field construction, the cold box has emerged
mixed refrigerant (MR) process. MR processes are based on as a key component in this effort. Consequently, it is
mixtures of light hydrocarbons and nitrogen, normally a single prudent to include a short summary of what a cold box
mixture system with or without pre‑cooling. In some instances, the includes and the advantages it provides.
processing scheme utilises dual mixture systems. The composite construction of a cold box
Process optimisation is achieved by varying the mixture of comprises of the following:
refrigerant components and operating pressures in a manner that nn BAHXs, which can be a single unit or multiple units
essentially allows the heating curve of the refrigerant to mirror the manifolded together in parallel and/or series.
cooling curve of natural gas in a tight temperature approach. The nn Interconnecting pipe work.
brazed aluminium exchanger accommodates the surface area nn Process and separator vessels.
requirements resulting from the tight approach temperatures and nn Nitrogen purge and pressure relief safety systems.
log mean temperature difference (LMTD). Its inherent multi‑stream nn External flanged connections for easy hook up to
capability also allows the process engineer to add or remove process pipe work.
refrigeration along the process thermal gradient, wherever needed, nn Instrumentation.
to optimise process efficiency. A single service main liquefaction nn Insulation.
BAHX has been an integral part of MR base load, mid scale, and
peak shaving plants since the early 1970s. Another advantage to A modular structure provides simplified
the process is the use of a single service compressor to provide the transportation and installation, minimised on-site
refrigeration pressure boost. construction, and reduced overall project schedule,
Chart’s Integrated Pre-cooled Single Mixed Refrigerant (IPSMR®) complexity and cost.
process is comparable to dual mixture processes, but less
complicated. It was designed specifically to minimise operating Conclusion
differential temperature in the BAHX, which significantly reduces The highly efficient and versatile BAHX makes it
the possibility of overstress from plant upset conditions and also possible to design and optimise liquefaction systems to
improves process efficiency. minimise capital and operating cost over a wide range
Another advantage of using BAHXs in MR processes is the of plant capacities. BAHXs and cold boxes are well
ability to scale capacity. BAHXs work well in both small and suited to all common process cycles, reducing the cost
multi-train mid scale LNG applications as capacity can be easily of LNG production without compromising safety or
managed for increasingly larger flow volumes. The construction of reliability.
At the Core
of LNG
Chart brazed aluminum plate fin heat exchangers (BAHX) are highly efficient, custom
engineered, compact units that have been at the heart of LNG liquefaction processes since
the 1970’s and are facilitating the export of North American shale gas today.
E-mail: bahx@[Link]
[Link]
Chart Brazed Aluminum
Heat Exchangers
First to Produce LNG On-board a Floating Facility
Custom designed, highly efficient, compact heat exchangers with superior heat
transfer performance and operational flexibility. Providing substantially lower
weight, scalability, modular construction and proven performance, Chart Brazed
Aluminum Heat Exchangers are uniquely suited to the rigors of floating vessels,
where space is at a premium and reliability is paramount.
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