After one or two shifts of operation, niter tanks and oil tanks often experience a decrease in heating rate and an increase in temperature difference within the tank. When procurement personnel inspect the site, they find that the temperature on the heat source side is not low, but the temperature difference between the middle and the edge of the tank can reach over ten degrees Celsius. After investigation, most cases point to the same link: scaling on the surface of heat exchange components or changes in medium compatibility, resulting in decreased heat transfer efficiency, while replacing the entire equipment is costly and requires long downtime.
The HGR-22 heat pipe heat exchanger uses heat pipes as heat transfer units. The working fluid inside the heat pipe absorbs heat and vaporizes at the hot end, and releases heat and condenses at the cold end, transferring heat through a phase-change cycle. Compared with direct flame or electric heating elements immersed in the tank, heat pipe elements separate the heat source from the medium. Failure of a single element does not affect overall operation, and elements can be replaced one by one. This model is suitable for heating and insulation of niter tanks, water tanks, oil tanks, and acid-base tanks. The installation method can be side insertion or top insertion depending on the tank structure.
The first is medium corrosiveness. Acid-base tanks and niter tanks have different requirements for pipe shell materials. The combination must be determined based on medium concentration, temperature, and compatibility test data to avoid non-condensable gas generation during operation, which can deteriorate heat transfer. The second is the working temperature range. The HGR-22 can be configured with working fluids for two operating conditions: low-temperature heat tracing and medium-temperature heating. The third is heat source conditions. Steam, heat transfer oil, or electric heating can all serve as the hot-end heat source. Heat source temperature and flow rate must be provided to calculate the heat transfer area.
This model adopts a detachable single heat pipe structure. During maintenance, there is no need to drain the tank. Simply shut off the corresponding heat source branch to withdraw the element for inspection or replacement. During procurement, the supplier can be required to provide material certificates, compatibility test reports, and heat transfer performance data for individual elements. For continuously operating niter tanks and oil tanks, it is recommended to configure spare heat pipe elements in a certain proportion to shorten fault handling time.
