This project involved replacement of the two crude oil furnaces with a single new crude oil furnace.

The main objective of the project was improvement in the energy efficiency of the CDU and VDU units, to consolidate their processing capacity, reduce operating and maintenance costs, and improve environmental and safety conditions.

• Design, manufacture and shipment of the complete 01-H101 furnace, including combustion skid and burners.
• Design, manufacture and transport of the decoking system
• Design, fabrication and transportation of the direct fired furnace structure, including the necessary platforms to provide accessibility to the equipment.
• Design of the 01-H101 furnace control system and supply of the necessary instrumentation.
• Elaboration of the health and safety plan
• Assembly supervision
• Start-up assistance and warranty testing.
• Spare parts supply

The vertical cylindrical furnace has a capacity of 21.28 Gcal/h. It has a convective zone with an extended surface and a self-supporting chimney. It operates with a mixture of fuel gas and natural gas as the main fuel, with the possibility of using fuel oil as an alternative fuel. It has 10 low NOX natural draft burners capable of releasing 2.75 Gcal with FO and 2.8Gcal with FG. The burners have electric ignition and pilot flame monitoring by ionization. For maintenance, the furnace has three levels of retractable blowers between the convective banks for external cleaning of the extended surface of the tubes. In addition, a decoking system has been installed for cleaning the deposits inside the process tubes. The design of the equipment has taken into account the possibility of a future installation of an energy recovery/air preheating system with the necessary considerations included in design for burners, chimney and instrumentation. The results of the furnace performance tests are summarised below:

• The performance values calculated in the tests (according to the Lobo & Evans method) were higher than expected.
• The regulation of excess O2 by means of louvers was found to be very effective, operating the burners smoothly with less excess air than specified with both fuels.
• During the tests, the percentage of opening of the diaphragm was between 57% and 68%, obtaining radiation section values of -3mmWG and -5 mmWG (between -17mmWG and -20mmWG over burners). These values ensure high furnace operability.
• The temperatures of the 14 thermoskins installed in the process coil indicated good heat distribution in the radiation chamber.
• During the maximum capacity test, the absence of flame impingement on both the tubes and the roof refractory was verified and the maximum tube skin temperatures did not exceed 80% of the design temperature.
• The emissions measured were lower than those specified by AITESA and those permitted by Peruvian law.

This project has a positive impact on the CDU’s environmental performance in terms of atmospheric emissions. The main aspects are:

• The new furnace has an 85% efficiency in the use of the energy released during combustion, compared to the average efficiency of 73% of existing furnaces. This results in a reduction in fuel consumption.
• Use of low NOx burners.
• Use of a mixture of fuel gas (FG) and natural gas (NG) as fuel in the new furnace, compared to the current use of vacuum residue as fuel in the existing furnaces. This implies a significant reduction in the sulfur concentration in the fuel.

In addition, this project has a positive impact on the operational safety of the crude heater. The equipment’s operating variables are monitored and regulated from the control room. The furnace has remote shutdown safeguards from the control room, such as load and fuel shutdowns in case of emergency.