Modification of the Heat Exchangers Around the Reactors of the Isomerization Unit in order to Reduce Energy Consumption

The efficiency of isomerization reactors can be significantly increased by modifying the design of heat exchangers, and this leads to the reduction of production costs and environmental effects. In this research, the modification of the heat exchangers around the reactor of the isomerization unit of Persian Gulf Star Oil Compani (PGSOC) using pinch technology has been studied by Aspen HYSYS V9 and Aspen Energy Analyzer V9 software. Pinch analysis in this unit showed that the cross pinch of the heat exchangers around the reactor is 50% of the total cross pinch of the unit's heat exchangers, and in order to reduce it, a retrofit case was investigated. The results of this project show that by adding two new heat exchangers, in addition to removing 7 Ton/hr of medium pressure steam in the E-13 heat exchanger, also 9 Ton/hr of low-pressure steam is produced in the E-28-R2 heat exchanger, that causes to reduction of 10.7 MW in the consumption of utility services. This case saved energy 3 million dollars per years and with the purchase of two heat exchangers, the investment return of this case is less than 1 month.