Hot Oil

Systems
Chris Finch

HOT OIL
Brief

look at hot oil systems

More correctly called Heat Transfer
Fluid
Not a lot of detail!
Hot oil is used as process heating
at temperatures where steam is no
longer viable due to higher
pressures required
Hot oil as a utility is normally
supplied at temperatures between
250 and 400C

Block Diagram
Vent
Surg
e
Tank

Heater

Fuel

Use
r

Use
r

Use
r

Use
r

Surge Tank
A

surge or expansion tank has a number of

uses
It is a means of topping up with cold fluid
It allows for thermal expansion in the
system which can be considerable between
ambient and operating conditions
It is used to de-inventory individual heat
exchangers without having to drain heat
transfer fluid from the system
It is used to vent any vapour/water from the
system

Circulation Pump(s)
Circulation pump is normally situated
between the Surge Tank and Heater
It is normally a high integrity and expensive
centrifugal pump
It has to cope with a wide range of
conditions
Temperatures from ambient to circa 350 C
Large viscosity variations - can be high at
ambient temperature
Need method of flow control until heater
warms up fluid and reduces viscosity

 Hot

oils tend to have safety or

environmental issues
They tend to be flammable, toxic or
environmentally damaging
Thus pumps need high integrity seal
systems
Canned motors, magnetically driven
or robust double mechanical seals
They are operating at high
temperatures!

Choice of heat transfer

fluid
There

are a number of different types

Glycol based use up to 175C
Synthetic organics and silicone oils go to
400C
There are a number of criteria to look at
Temperature range, vapour pressure,
viscosity, corrosion, economics, stability
during temperature cycling, toxicity,
liquid and vapour phase, heat capacity.
thermal conductivity

Temperature Control of
Process
Two

normal methods
Use a control valve to regulate flow
of hot oil through heat exchanger
Use a tempered loop to control
temperature of hot oil side of heat
exchanger

Control Hot Oil Flow

Process In
T
T
Hot Oil
Supply

TIC

TCV

Hot Oil
Return

Control Hot Oil

Temperature
Process In
T
T
Hot Oil
Supply

TCV
TIC

Hot Oil
Return

Control Hot Oil Flow

Main

advantage is cost
Lower capital, operating and
maintenance costs
Also less leak potential ie no pump
Disadvantage is can have higher delta T
across exchanger
Can lead to high tube surface
temperature and may adversely effect
process eg breakdown of process
chemicals

Control Hot Oil

Temperature
Main

advantages are
Better temperature control
Reduced chance of product degradation
Disadvantages are cost and safety
Tempered loops as they are sometimes
called can be used for any liquid often
used for chilled utility loops
Can also be used for hot water loops
where typically use steam injection as
heat source

Choice of Energy Source

Normally gas is preferred some
times with fuel oil as back up
Gas easy to control and less
maintenance than oil
Electricity can be used for small
units easy to start up but expensive
as energy source for heating
Interruptible gas with oil back up
will be cheapest energy option

Commissioning Issues
The need to get pipework and
equipment clean and dry
Often get chemically cleaned and dried
with hot air
If do not dry equipment need to heat up
system very slowly problematic with
higher cold viscosity oils.
Thermal expansion is can cause two
issues misalignment of flanges and
pipework hitting things!