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Mega-Exchanger for Mexico

December 7, 2023

A Mexican manufacturer has received a new Cold Interpass Heat Exchanger, designed and supplied by NORAM. The giant vessel was gently lowered onto its new platform during a plant turnaround in August 2023, replacing an old plate-type exchanger at the end of its service life.

It was a perfect application for NORAM’s patented Gas-to-gas (RF™) Split Flow (SF™) technology which has been setting operational standards for sulfuric acid plants for many years. The new exchanger delivers checkmarks for a wide operating range, a future 40% capacity increase, and a 50% turndown from the maximum anticipated capacity. Most notably, the Split Flow configuration addresses issues typical in cold exchanger applications, such as the acid condensation on the cold bottom tube sheet.

The 4.1m diameter, 19.5m tall heat exchanger was shop-fabricated in Mexico and transported 1,400km by road to the site. Four new duct segments, fabricated to accommodate the new platform, travelled 2,900 km by road from the United States. The replacement exchanger and ducts were seamlessly integrated into the existing plant layout without modification to the current process.

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