A global leader in research-led, high-tech cleaning and inspection services, Tube Tech International constantly develops tried and tested methods to solve heavy industries' most difficult cleaning challenges throughout the world. For over 32 years, the company has provided simultaneous cleaning and inspection service for static heat transfer equipment that has delivered unprecedented savings, from $100,000 a year per exchanger to $200 million in one project. These benefits include reducing downtime, cutting CO2 emissions, increasing throughput and improving safety standards. Tube Tech stocks over 50 unique cleaning technologies and comfortably advises any client of the pros and cons of any technology found on the internet, i.e., what they can do and what they cannot do.
In addition to founding and running Tube Tech International, Mike Watson has developed more than 50 highly innovative cleaning technologies, of which 14 are patented, all designed to remove process fouling from a multitude of process assets. Robotic, remote, in-situ and live (during full production) cleaning services are just a few examples of the unique benefits available to Tube Tech's clients.
"As an extreme innovator in downstream cleaning, you could argue that I'm biased, but there's a much bigger picture here than my own thoughts," said Watson. "Generally speaking, the industry simply hasn't and isn't evolving quick enough to tackle the downturn in oil prices. When oil prices and profits were high, investments in new technologies were ironically seen as a luxury and quite unnecessary, as money was plentiful. Now that bubble has burst, those who did not prepare for market volatility and avoided embracing new maintenance technologies struggle to shut down long enough to remove the heavier fouling and are therefore unable to inspect strategic assets, leaving replacement as the only unwelcome option, much to the disappointment of procurement, senior management and -- most of all -- shareholders.
Barriers to innovation
Incredibly, Watson pointed out, no industry benchmark exists when it comes to refinery asset cleaning standards, leaving both contractors and clients using visual or a "thumb in the air" approach. "Refineries have their approved suppliers using the same cleaning equipment and processes for decades," he said. "Operators seem to blindly accept the loss of millions in downtime, but this has more to do with a lack of knowledge than anything else, with national and international cleaning contractors providing clients with little if any form of proactive monitoring, measuring, recording or archiving of their activities in order to protect what little profit they make from cleaning activities. Profits are of course often made up by adding waste handling to their service. But this provides no appraisal for future learning, as shutdowns continue to be dictated by exchanger cleaning activities.
"I'm dismayed that in 2017 no one challenges or benchmarks as to 'How clean is clean?' No images before and after, no insistence of cleaning contractors to achieve the same if not better standards. If a kettle element or a frying pan is scaled, they consume more energy to heat the product, with the added danger of the mechanical integrity being compromised. We then clean it with chemicals or mechanical methods, but the question of quality remains: How clean is clean enough? Whilst no API standard exists as to how clean something should be, there is one such solution for heat exchanger tubes, and that is Tube Tech's Enhanced IRIS [internal rotary inspection system] inspection standard tube polishing. Tube Tech International remains the only company to guarantee cleanliness to IRIS standard inspection for asset integrity."
U.S. expansion
In recent years, Tube Tech has focused on local downturn in oil prices resulting in the downstream energy sector needing to run for longer and fouling factors increasing. Robotic cleaning in-situ and even on line unlocks substantial revenue for clients, so Tube Tech saw the opportunity to realize its potential by developing in the U.S. and Middle East.
"Within 12 months, we will have a Houston presence to promote our latest engineered game-changer technologies, namely robotic fouling removal and ancillary services via our joint venture partners, and finalize several alliances with global EPCs to help research, develop and promote paradigm- shifting cleaning and inspection technologies," explained Watson. "Tube Tech is now utilizing several ground-breaking systems that remove fouling from previously inaccessible heat transfer assets such as the external shell side-tube surfaces of heat exchangers, fired heater convection banks, heat recovery steam generators and many others.
"The company's ethos has been to challenge tradition and research and engineer solutions to solve the most difficult fouling issues worldwide. With a 100-percent record of success for over 30 years, we have built a global reputation of being the 'go-to' company when all else has failed and clients are left facing costly asset replacement or subject to massive production losses.
"Solving fouling issues perceived as impossible has allowed Tube Tech to develop many world firsts, such as live on-line de-coking/ cleaning of fired heaters, robotic dry drilling of tubular catalyst reactors and flare line cleaning without shutting down the plant. This means zero downtime, reduced capital and operational expense, no waste, and no environmental or CO2 emission issues."
However, according to Watson, while regulations and safety procedures have improved in recent years, the technology itself still relies on higher pressures and volumes using some form of flexible or rigid lance technology. Looking ahead, Watson is hoping to chair a new task committee to create a new American Petroleum Institute (API 500) cleaning standards document that will set a new benchmark for "how clean is clean?" in heat transfer equipment.
"There are of course professional water jetting and chemical cleaning outfits out there, but they are in the minority, which frustrates refineries and petrochemical plants alike," he said. "As they continue to run, they struggle to remove tenacious fouling to the desired inspection standard or to achieve full production throughput with heat transfer co-efficiency as per design. I started the business having listened to clients regularly say, 'I wish we could have something better, something that didn't take as long so we could reduce costly downtime, that would remove more fouling so we could run for longer, that didn't create as much costly waste and that allowed me to keep production going without shutting down the plant.'
"Taking all these points into account over the last 32 years, my team and I have developed technologies to solve these problems and now look forward to sharing some unique technology with the American market. We recognize the need to develop relationships and have recently signed multiple service agreements with major refining and petrochemical groups, which we will now start to develop.
"Having already signed a global joint venture, we are now in final discussions with established international and corporate entities to develop collaborative alliances. With our new R&D center being established, we expect within one to two years to have introduced another four 'step change' technologies that will change the way heat transfer equipment is cleaned and inspected.
"Due to our unique technologies, we never compete like-for-like with other cleaning contractors, making it possible to work with perceived competitors under NDA without a conflict of interest. This forces us to innovate an improved method or technology to unlock previously untapped benefits. By improving safety, reducing downtime, extending run times, avoiding dismantling, creating no secondary waste and cleaning without shutting down, we provide an unprecedented return on investment and the ultimate service."
To support the research center, Tube Tech is currently finalizing several multimillion-dollar research grants, allowing it to develop self-cleaning heat transfer assets.
Case study: Ethylene heater robotic cleaning
One of the world's largest ethylene producers avoided the costly convection bank replacement of a cracking furnace by using Tube Tech International's unique robotic cleaning technology to fully clean its steam-cracking furnace convection-bank coils.
Tube Tech's robots removed nearly 100 percent of all fouling from every convection tube bank. The robot used an endoscope to verify levels of cleanliness had been exceeded.
Cleaning was completed within 36 hours (during shutdown) using two robots. This dramatically reduced stack temperatures to normal and improved heat transfer, allowing increased throughput and far exceeding the client's expectations. The client achieved an $8 million first-year energy return, excluding the cost of replacement.
"The root cause of the decreasing performance of the furnace was reduced heat transfer in the convection section due to external fouling," explained the client. "After robotic cleaning by Tube Tech International, the heat duty of each convection bank increased by 11 percent, and the stack loss reduced by 16 percent. The quality of high-pressure steam generated was improved. Thorough cleaning avoided damage to the low-temperature sections and flue gas fan. The external cleaning was a success and will bring many benefits in the coming years."
For more information, visit www. tubetech.com or call +44 1268 786999 or (800) 315-5320.
