How much are you overcompensating for reduced heat exchanger performance due to fouling? Having released significant energy savings for oil refineries around the world, Tube Tech International proves the answer is likely to be millions -- not to mention heightened fuel emissions that have become a topic for scrutiny.
Delivering unrivaled fouling removal solutions with its first-of-its-kind robotic technology, the company has recently celebrated the busiest month of trading in its 20-year history.
Christian Chanel, vice president of Tube Tech in Houston, explained, "Once we have completed a job, our clients always say, 'We've never seen our equipment that clean before.' That's because traditional cleaning methods can only target what is within reach, which can be as little as 2 percent of the total surface area. Often, by the time we're called in, not only has the fouling volume and tenacity increased exponentially, but the refinery has been compensating for the lack of heat transfer for a prolonged period of time, wasting millions of dollars and producing millions of tons of carbon emissions through excess fuel burn."
Tube Tech International's remote, no-man-entry robotic technology offers less environmental and human risk, along with an incomparable cleaning standard. Chanel continued, "The fact that even in the most challenging environments we consistently deliver more than 90-percent clean with a fraction of the downtime usually associated with heavily fouled assets makes us the go-to company across the industry."
In just the month of May, Tube Tech International completed contracts at multiple refineries, including Petrostar in Alaska, Praxair in California, Sitech in the Netherlands, Bangchak in Thailand and Valspar in the U.K.
The increased demand for the company's innovative technology comes at a time when significant expansion is on the horizon for the petrochemical industry. More than 900 U.S. capital projects worth $241 billion are preparing to come on line in just a couple of years' time, and five crackers totaling more than 6 million metric tons per year of ethylene capacity began operations between 2017- 2018 along the U.S. Gulf Coast. While the potential disruption to supply chain logistics due to new steel tariffs is a current topic for debate, the pace of production shows no sign of slowing down, with an even greater focus on turnaround performance, enhancing maintenance and reliability, and reducing carbon emissions.
Chanel concluded, "As the petrochemical industry continues to expand, it must embrace technological advancements to support its future, its stakeholders and the environment. Having been part of the discussions at the Downstream 2018 Conference, I am even more convinced that environmental responsibility and the need to cut emissions voluntarily will be at the top of leading refineries' agendas to negate the need for production quotas.
"We now work with more clients than ever before to bring their refinery assets back to factory condition. The significant reductions in CO2 emissions are a natural by-product of the huge cost-saving efficiencies we achieve."
For more information, visit www. tubetech.com, or call (832) 286-1322 or (832) 286-1395.
