Innovative solutions for heat exchanger management

HPC Industrial

To be a leading player in North America’s industrial services sector, key factors should include having a dedicated technology center that also offers an extensive range of services, cutting-edge technology and innovative practices.

HPC Industrial, a Clean Harbors company, has a fully dedicated technology center and offers a comprehensive portfolio of services that leverage technology and innovation to deliver safer and more predictable results. Headquartered in Deer Park, Texas, it boasts 90 facilities across the country, over 8,000 employees and it collaborates with thousands of customers across the industrial landscape.

The company prides itself on safe, comprehensive and sustainable turnkey services that don’t compromise on quality. Through its Total Exchanger Management program, the company streamlines the cleaning, repair and maintenance of heat exchangers, eliminating the need to coordinate multiple contractors at each stage and averting potential issues. From start to finish, HPC’s experts manage the details of each project, allowing for a smoother transition, the maximization of time-on-tools and optimization of the project schedule.

Heat exchangers play a key role in day-to-day activities in every industry, which means they need to be monitored closely to ensure maximum efficiency. Over time, the exchanger’s overall ability to transfer heat declines due to fouling, which impacts pressure levels, flow rates and contributes to corrosion of the exchanger tubes. Without proper maintenance, catastrophic failures can occur, forcing facilities to shut down until repairs are made.

No company plans for a catastrophic failure, but with HPC’s Total Exchanger Management services, clients will be more than ready to face any challenge. Calling HPC is choosing a company that is rigorously trained and extremely knowledgeable in exchanger management, ready to plan clients’ services from start to finish.

Exchanger extraction

During the planning phase, HPC’s project management team works to determine which solution best serves the client’s sustainability, environmental and safety mandates. Where a turnkey, offsite cleaning service is determined to be the best option, HPC handles the rest — from transportation of heat exchanger bundles and parts to managing all inbound and outbound waste in partnership with its parent company, Clean Harbors.

Isolating the exchanger bundle is crucial to Total Exchanger Management. HPC CARBER’s controlled bolting services deploy cross-trained bolting specialists to safely and efficiently blind and disassemble the exchanger. They are equipped with hydraulic tensioners and torque wrenches for preloading standard-sized bolts and studs, along with manual torque wrenches for smaller stud sizes. HPC can even design and manufacture specialized hydraulic tooling for applications where standard industry tooling won’t work. Clean Harbors acquired specialty mechanical services business, CARBER, in 2019.

After the exchanger bundle is pulled, it is taken to either an onsite wash pad or to one of HPC Industrial’s offsite cleaning facilities.

Cleaning

HPC leverages formidable capabilities and years of expertise to safely clean and extend equipment life. Cleaning and maintaining equipment in an industrial facility is a daunting task with serious bottom line implications, but this company isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. HPC offers its ShellSide cleaner, Computerized Tube Cleaning System (CTCS) and Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning to help preserve the life of the equipment at a facility. These services can be conducted onsite or at an off-site cleaning facility owned by HPC Industrial or Clean Harbors.

With safety being HPC’s number one priority, its CTCS technology is designed to be operated remotely with the push of a button, removing employees from slick-suits and the line of fire of pressurized hoses. Unlike most other tube cleaning services, this system utilizes four lances simultaneously, decreasing the amount of time it takes to complete cleaning jobs by up to 50%. There’s also a 25-30% reduction in water consumption, promoting a healthier environment. This and other data are collected in real time, and a detailed post-job report is created, making future tube cleanings even easier to manage.

Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning provides precision cleaning to both the internal and external sides of industrial equipment. Often combined with low- or high-pressure water cleaning to help rinse away residual chemicals and foulant, this is a powerful technique that helps return heat exchangers and parts to mint condition. Ultrasonic transducers deliver acoustic energy, cavitating the liquid at the equipment surface to push away stuckon deposits and break down tough scales. HPC uses its own proprietary chemistries, which are designed to be compatible with the fouling type and metallurgy of the material onsite, ensuring the utmost care is given to a clients’ assets.

HPC’s turnkey, offsite cleaning facilities are a one-stop-shop solution for all customer needs. Thanks to its ever-expanding network, HPC is uniquely positioned in the industry to offer all exchanger management cleaning services at one location from one vendor. Transportation and waste management is managed in house through Clean Harbors and Safety-Kleen sister sites, all operating under one corporate umbrella.

Testing and repair

Eddy Current Testing (ECT) is a method of NDE to assess the integrity of heat exchanger tubing. ECT is incredibly sensitive, making it the perfect choice for HPC’s Total Exchanger Management services. Routine NDE and inspection help identify problem areas and avoid costly, unplanned outages. The company can also provide remote field testing, near field testing, internal rotary inspection and bore scoping. HPC ensures all its NDE technicians are ASNT level II and level III compliant, ensuring customers that they are working with top-tier professionals.

Having the equipment and expertise to repair heat exchanger tubes and other exchanger parts means there’s no downtime due to transportation or having to bring in another contractor. Any repairs needed can be handled onsite through retubing, tube plugging, machining/milling and more. HPC is making great strides toward obtaining National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) R-stamp certification, another major plus on its already impressive résumé. The R-stamp signifies that a company is authorized to perform repairs and alternations on pressure-retaining items in accordance with NBIC.

Exchanger reinstall

HPC’s specialists ensure that the tube bundle is reinstalled properly and the connection to other segments is reinstated using hydraulic bolting and tensioning equipment. To ensure the integrity of the final installation and any repairs, HPC conducts hydro-testing to verify a leak free startup. If there are any integrity issues discovered through testing, the exchanger is disassembled so repairs can take place and another round of hydro-testing follows. The exchanger then goes through the final bolt up, the blinds are removed so the tube bundle is completely reincorporated and regular operations can resume.

Exchanger management is not for the faint of heart and taking on the process from start to finish requires an extraordinary amount of dedication and talent. There’s no doubt that HPC Industrial has what it takes to execute Total Exchanger Management at the highest level of safety, sustainability and efficiency. As the first of its kind in the industry, this program is simultaneously setting and raising the bar. The only question left to ask is, why hasn’t HPC been called yet?

For more information, visit hpc-industrial.com/totalexchanger or call (800) 932-5326.

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