HeatFlo Technical Info

Energy Savings for the Hydrocarbon Processing Industry

How They Work
Heat pipe air heaters are comprised of numerous sealed carbon steel tubes which contain a heat transfer liquid. The liquid inside the tubes is vaporized by heat absorbed from flue gases and condensed by outside air being inducted into the furnace.

The heat pipe is tilted up at the condenser end (air side) at an angle of 6 to 10 degrees, providing gravity assistance to the f low of the working fluid back to the evaporator (flue gas) side. Finned tube surfaces are used in both air and flue gas streams to increase surface area and heat transfer.

A steel plate separates the combustion air and flue gas streams into parallel ducts. Individual heat pipe tubes transport thermal energy from one gas stream to the other with no measurable leakage, ensuring the highest efficiency.

Why Heatflo Heat Pipe Air Heaters?
With up to 25% of a typical hydrocarbon processing plant's operating budget spent on fuel, recovery of energy lost in flue gases can provide an effective means to keep costs down. Hudson's Heatflo heat pipe air heaters (HPAHs) recapture a portion of your energy dollars and put them back to work.

Hudson's Manufacturing Capabilities. Hudson Products Corporation designs and manufactures heat transfer equipment for the petroleum, chemical, gas-processing and electric utility industries. Our production facility is located 35 miles south of Houston on a 120-acre site with 8 acres under roof.

With Hudson's manufacturing capability and marshaling capacity, the manufacture of Heatflo heat pipe air heaters can be coordinated for shipment to the plant site on an "as-needed" basis. In addition, modular construction allows for easy erection at the plant site.

Total Supply, Engineering and Service. Single-source responsibility assures fast response, lower costs, and efficient project execution. Our experienced field service group can supply construction and startup support services.

Typical heatflo HPAH module

Hudson Hy-Fin® Tubes. HPAHs are available in a variety of fin tube configurations to suit the needs of the application. Heat pipes are available in 2-inch diameters with extruded, extruded serrated, embedded or wrap-on aluminum fins. In addition, carbon steel fins (see cover photograph) are also available for high temperature and/or dirty fuel applications.

Alternate Orientations
Heatflo HPAHs can be installed in various orientations to fit numerous duct arrangements for retrofits and to minimize duct fabrication for new plants.

Typical Applications of Heatflo Heat Pipe Air Heaters
	Furnace Air Heater	Air Preheater
Location	Chemical Plant	Small Power Plant
Fuel Burned	Natural Gas	Agricultural Waste
Flue Gas Inlet Temp.	682°F	500°F
Thermal Duty	2.4 MMBtu/hr	25 MMBtu/hr
Heat Pipe Arrangement	Staggered	Staggered
Heat Pipe Length	9 feet	46 feet
Cleaning Equipment	None	Rotary Sootblowers

Determine Your Fuel Savings

Fuel Savings with a Heatflow Heat Pipe Air Heater (HPAH)
Determine your fuel savings by following the arrows. This is a quick check on the money you will save by installing an air heater in your existing or planned plant. For example, an HPAH for a fired heater having an absorbed duty of 100 million Btu/hr, with a 700°F gas inlet temperature and a 300°F gas outlet temperature, performs a duty of 11.7 million Btu/hr and saves your $306,000 per year with a cost of fuel at $3.0/million Btu.

Based on refinery gas with 10% excess air

Heat Pipe Air Heaters
Over 50 years of extended-surface experience gained from thousands of installations worldwide, coupled with Hudson's dedication to Total Quality Management, assures the quality and reliability of Hudson's Heatflo Heat Pipe Air Heaters.

The Heatflo Edge

Non-flammable working fluid – promotes safe, reliable operation.
Minimal leakage – a solid barrier separates air and gas streams.
No moving parts – eliminates spare part inventories, minimizes maintenance.
Non-degradable working fluid – extends component life.
Isothermal operation – provides uniform heat transfer, eliminates "cold corner" and reduces corrosion potential.
Low pressure drop – reduces FD and ID fan requirements. Ideal for low pessure drop and natural draft applications.
Individual element design – maintains unit effectiveness even if a tube fails.
High pressure operation – without increase in potential leakage.
Compact, modular construction – simplifies installation and reduces space requirements.
Design flexibility – not thermally dependent to frontal area for efficiency. Horizontal and vertical designs ideal for new installations or retrofitting regenerative preheaters.

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