Heat Exchangers & Distillation Systems: Specialized 5-Day Training Course

Course Overview

This intensive Heat Exchangers and Distillation Systems training program delivers comprehensive technical expertise for engineering professionals across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman, GCC countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain), and Africa. The course covers heat exchanger design, thermal analysis, distillation fundamentals, column design, troubleshooting, and performance optimization essential for maximizing efficiency and reliability in refineries, petrochemical plants, gas processing facilities, and chemical industries.

With the Middle East operating over 300 major refineries and petrochemical complexes and Africa’s expanding downstream sector, this training addresses critical competencies for professionals at Saudi Aramco, SABIC, PDO (Petroleum Development Oman), ADNOC, OQ, KNPC, Dangote, Sasol, and other operators managing critical heat transfer and separation equipment accounting for 40-60% of capital investment and significantly impacting energy efficiency, product quality, and operational costs.

Target Audience

• Process Engineers in refineries and petrochemical plants across Saudi Arabia, Oman, GCC, Africa

• Mechanical Engineers responsible for heat exchanger design and maintenance

• Operations Personnel managing distillation columns and heat exchange networks

• Design Engineers in EPC companies (Bechtel, Technip, Fluor, Samsung)

• Maintenance Engineers troubleshooting heat exchanger and column problems

• Project Engineers specifying equipment for new facilities

• Performance Engineers optimizing energy efficiency

• Technical Managers overseeing separation and heat transfer operations

Day 1: Heat Exchanger Fundamentals & Design

Morning Session: Heat Transfer Principles & Equipment Types

• Heat transfer fundamentals: conduction, convection, radiation mechanisms

• Fourier’s law, Newton’s law of cooling, Stefan-Boltzmann law

• Overall heat transfer coefficient (U): film coefficients, fouling factors, wall resistance

• Heat exchanger classification: recuperators vs. regenerators

• Shell-and-tube exchangers: fixed tubesheet, floating head, U-tube configurations

• TEMA (Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association) standards and designations

• Plate heat exchangers: gasketed, brazed, welded types for petrochemical applications

• Plate-and-frame exchangers: advantages, limitations, maintenance

• Air-cooled heat exchangers (ACHE): forced draft, induced draft designs

• Critical importance in water-scarce GCC region (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman)

• Compact heat exchangers: plate-fin, spiral, printed circuit for specialized applications

• Double pipe, hairpin exchangers for small duties

Afternoon Session: Shell-and-Tube Design Calculations

• TEMA standards: front-end types (A, B, C), shell types (E, F, G, H, J, K, X), rear-end types (L, M, N, P, S, T, U, W)

• Thermal design methodology: rating vs. sizing problems

• Log Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD): calculation, F-factor correction for multiple passes

• ε-NTU (effectiveness-NTU) method for complex configurations

• Tube-side design: velocity limits, pressure drop, Reynolds number, friction factor

• Tube arrangements: triangular, square, rotated square patterns

• Shell-side design: baffle types (segmental, disc-and-doughnut, rod baffle), spacing, cut percentage

• Shell-side heat transfer correlations: Kern, Bell-Delaware methods

• Pressure drop calculations: tube-side, shell-side, nozzle losses

• Fouling considerations: fouling resistances for refinery and petrochemical services

• Materials selection: carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, Monel for corrosive Saudi/Oman environments

• Hands-on workshop: Shell-and-tube exchanger design calculations using TEMA standards

Day 2: Air-Cooled Exchangers & Specialized Equipment

Morning Session: Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger Design

• ACHE applications: condensers, coolers in refineries, gas plants across GCC

• Design considerations for high ambient temperatures (45-55°C in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman summers)

• API 661 standards: design, construction, installation requirements

• Forced vs. induced draft: performance, recirculation, noise considerations

• Thermal design: air-side heat transfer, tube-side design, finned tube selection

• Fin types: tension-wrapped, L-footed, embedded, extruded for different services

• Fan selection: axial fans, motor sizing, variable speed drives

• Humidification and fogging systems for hot climate performance enhancement

• Noise control: acoustic requirements in industrial areas (Jubail, Yanbu, Sohar, Ruwais)

• Winter operation considerations: freeze protection, louvers, variable speed control

• Maintenance aspects: tube plugging limits, cleaning access, fan maintenance

• Case studies: ACHE optimization at Saudi Aramco refineries, ADNOC facilities

Afternoon Session: Specialized Heat Transfer Equipment

• Fired heaters and furnaces: process heaters, reformer furnaces, crude heaters

• API 530 design standards, thermal efficiency optimization

• Tube metallurgy: high-temperature alloys, creep considerations, thermal cycling

• Radiation vs. convection sections: heat distribution, coil design

• Reboilers: thermosiphon, kettle, forced circulation types

• Reboiler selection criteria and troubleshooting common problems

• Condensers: partial, total condensation, multi-component systems

• Overhead condenser design for distillation columns in refineries

• Vaporizers and evaporators: falling film, rising film, forced circulation

• Multi-effect evaporation for desalination, wastewater concentration

• Heat exchanger networks (HEN): series, parallel arrangements, temperature cross

• Energy integration in Saudi refineries and petrochemical plants

• Workshop: Air-cooled exchanger sizing for GCC climate conditions

Day 3: Distillation Fundamentals & Column Design

Morning Session: Distillation Principles & Equilibrium

• Distillation overview: separation principle, vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE)

• Phase diagrams: T-x-y, x-y diagrams, relative volatility concept

• Raoult’s law and ideal systems: vapor pressure, activity coefficients

• Non-ideal systems: azeotropes (minimum, maximum boiling), deviation from ideality

• McCabe-Thiele method: graphical stage-by-stage calculation

• Operating lines, feed line (q-line), minimum reflux, actual reflux

• Column specifications: feed composition, product purities, recovery targets

• Degrees of freedom analysis for distillation column design

• Shortcut methods: Fenske equation (minimum stages), Underwood equations (minimum reflux)

• Gilliland correlation: actual stages from minimum stages and reflux ratio

• Multi-component distillation: key components, split specifications

• Applications: crude distillation, naphtha splitters, FCC fractionators in Saudi Aramco, ADNOC refineries

• Hands-on exercises: McCabe-Thiele construction, shortcut calculations

Afternoon Session: Column Internals & Hydraulics

• Tray types: sieve trays, valve trays, bubble cap trays, dual-flow trays

• Tray design parameters: hole diameter, hole area, weir height, tray spacing

• Tray hydraulics: vapor distribution, liquid flow patterns, entrainment, weeping

• Flooding calculations: jet flood, downcomer flood, system limit

• Tray efficiency: Murphree efficiency, overall efficiency, factors affecting performance

• Packed columns: random packing (Raschig rings, Pall rings, IMTP) vs. structured packing (Mellapak, Flexipac)

• Packing selection criteria: pressure drop, capacity, efficiency, cost

• Packed column design: HETP (Height Equivalent to Theoretical Plate), flooding correlations

• Liquid distributors and redistributors: ensuring uniform liquid distribution

• Column diameter sizing: tray columns, packed columns, entrainment limits

• Pressure drop: tray pressure drop, packing pressure drop impact on column operation

• Regional considerations: high liquid viscosity in heavy crude processing

Day 4: Distillation Column Operations & Troubleshooting

Morning Session: Column Operation & Control

• Start-up procedures: pressure testing, initial charge, establishing reflux, bringing to steady state

• Normal operations: monitoring key parameters (temperatures, pressures, flows, levels)

• Control strategies: temperature control, pressure control, level control, composition control

• Reflux ratio control: constant, variable based on feed or product composition

• Feed location optimization: impact on separation efficiency and energy consumption

• Column pressure control: condenser duty manipulation, inert gas venting

• Advanced control: inferential control, feed-forward control, model predictive control (MPC)

• Operational limits: flooding, weeping, excessive entrainment, foaming

• Product quality control: meeting specifications, analyzing off-spec situations

• Turndown operations: minimum rates, part-load performance

• Case studies: Crude column operations at Ras Tanura, SATORP fractionators, Sohar operations

Afternoon Session: Troubleshooting & Performance Issues

• Common operational problems: poor separation, flooding, capacity limitations, pressure drop issues

• Diagnosing tray damage: bent trays, plugged holes, damaged downcomers

• Packing problems: channeling, fouling, packing breakage, maldistribution

• Vapor-liquid maldistribution: causes, detection, remediation

• Foaming: antifoam selection, operational adjustments, design modifications

• Corrosion issues: overhead corrosion, bottom corrosion in sour service

• Fouling and coking: crude preheat train, vacuum columns, FCC main fractionators

• Contamination: feed contamination, tray fouling, salt deposition

• Performance testing: tray efficiency testing, gamma scan surveys, temperature profiles

• Debottlenecking strategies: increasing capacity without major modifications

• Revamp opportunities: tray replacement, packing upgrades, internals modifications

• Workshop: Troubleshooting scenarios from GCC refineries and petrochemical plants

Day 5: Advanced Topics & Performance Optimization

Morning Session: Heat Exchanger Fouling & Maintenance

• Fouling mechanisms: particulate, crystallization, chemical reaction, corrosion, biological

• Fouling in refineries: crude preheat train, FCC slurry exchangers, cooling water systems

• Fouling resistance: design values, monitoring actual fouling rates

• Mitigation strategies: velocity optimization, temperature control, chemical treatment, materials selection

• Chemical cleaning: acid cleaning, alkaline cleaning, solvent cleaning procedures

• Mechanical cleaning: tube cleaning methods, high-pressure water jetting

• Online cleaning systems: automatic tube cleaning (Taprogge, Hydroball)

• Tube inspection techniques: eddy current testing, remote field testing, visual inspection

• Tube failure analysis: corrosion, erosion, vibration, thermal fatigue

• Repair vs. replacement decisions for aging heat exchangers

• Maintenance planning: inspection intervals, cleaning schedules, turnaround activities

• Performance monitoring: heat transfer coefficient degradation, fouling curves

Afternoon Session: Energy Optimization & Simulation Tools

• Energy efficiency: reducing utility consumption, heat recovery optimization

• Pinch analysis application: identifying heat exchange opportunities in crude units

• Temperature approach optimization: balancing capital vs. energy costs

• Increasing heat recovery in Saudi Aramco refineries, PDO facilities

• Distillation optimization: reflux ratio optimization, feed preheating, intermediate reboilers/condensers

• Vapor recompression: mechanical, thermal vapor recompression for energy savings

• Divided-wall columns: single shell for two-product separation, energy savings

• Heat pump integration: using compression for temperature lift

• Process simulation tools: Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus, PRO/II for rigorous modeling

• Exchanger design software: Aspen EDR, HTRI, HTFS widely used in GCC

• Rating existing equipment: performance evaluation, remaining capacity assessment

• Optimization case studies: Energy savings at YASREF, SATORP heat integration projects

• Sustainability considerations: carbon footprint reduction, water conservation in GCC

• Future technologies: compact heat exchangers, advanced materials, digitalization

• Digital twins: predictive modeling, performance monitoring, maintenance optimization

• Final workshop: Integrated optimization project for refinery heat exchange network

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

• Design shell-and-tube heat exchangers following TEMA standards for industrial applications

• Select and size air-cooled exchangers optimized for high-temperature GCC climates

• Design distillation columns: determine stages, reflux ratio, column diameter, internals selection

• Troubleshoot operational problems in heat exchangers and distillation columns effectively

• Optimize energy efficiency through heat integration and process improvements

• Conduct performance evaluations and identify debottlenecking opportunities

• Apply simulation software for rigorous thermal and separation modeling

• Implement maintenance strategies minimizing fouling and maximizing equipment reliability

• Specify equipment for new projects meeting technical and economic requirements

Course Delivery & Certification

• Format: Technical lectures, design workshops, calculation exercises, simulation demonstrations, case studies

• Software: Introduction to Aspen EDR/HYSYS for heat exchanger and column design

• Materials: Comprehensive manual, TEMA standards excerpts, design charts, troubleshooting guides, calculation templates

• Certification: Professional certificate recognized by major operators and EPC companies across KSA, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Africa

• Language: English (Arabic translation support available)

• CPD Credits: Continuing professional development for process and mechanical engineers

• Locations: Riyadh, Dhahran, Jubail, Yanbu (KSA), Muscat, Sohar (Oman), Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait City, Lagos, Cairo, Johannesburg

Why This Course is Essential for the Region

GCC refineries and petrochemical plants operate thousands of heat exchangers and distillation columns in extreme conditions (50°C+ ambient temperatures, corrosive crude oils, high-sulfur environments). Saudi Aramco’s refining capacity (2.9 million bpd), ADNOC downstream expansion, Sohar Refinery, Duqm integrated complex, and Dangote Refinery (650,000 bpd) demand engineers skilled in designing, operating, and optimizing this critical equipment.

This training delivers practical expertise incorporating API and TEMA standards, Saudi Aramco SAES specifications, ADNOC design practices, addressing specific regional challenges: water scarcity (ACHE emphasis), heavy crude processing, sour service, fouling in desert environments, and energy efficiency critical for Saudi Vision 2030 and regional sustainability goals.

Master heat transfer. Perfect separation. Optimize performance.