FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to monitoring the condi- tions within industrial process equipment, in particu ^¬ lar to monitoring scaling in heat exchangers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heat exchangers are used in various industrial pro- cesses to dissipate excess heat from a process or, vice versa, to supply the required external heat to a process. In a heat exchanger, heat is transferred from one heat transfer medium with a higher temperature to another heat transfer medium with a lower temperature.

One commonly used type of heat exchangers is the tubu ^¬ lar heat exchanger, wherein one of the heat transfer media is led through a heating piping located within a flow volume filled with the other heat transfer medi- urn. Plate heat exchangers, where the different heat transfer media are separated by plate-like heat con ^¬ ductive separation walls, form another common heat exchanger type. The heat transfer media are typically liquids, e.g. water.

As in various industrial process equipment in general, the conditions within the heat exchangers should be monitored in order to be able to respond to possible changes therein. One specific problem possibly affect- ing the operation of a heat exchanger is scaling. Scaling, often called also fouling, is a well-known problem which may occur in many different applications in process industry. Scaling means generally deposition or accumulation of unwanted material on the surfaces of pipes, vessels, or other containers used for leading or storing flowa- ble materials. As a result of scaling, an extra layer of solid material is formed on such surface. Thereby, the free volume within the pipe or container, open for the presence of a flowable material, is changed. This can lead to many problems. For example, the changed shape of the free volume causes disturbances to the fluid flow, and the reduced cross-sectional area of the free inner volume of a process pipe or other flow volume increases the flow resistance through the pipe/flow volume. In a heat exchanger, these effects deteriorate the heat exchange efficiency. In an ex ^¬ treme case, the piping wherein scaling is formed can even be entirely clogged.

Formation of scaling can be prevented by use of suita ^¬ ble chemicals reducing the rate of scale formation. Alternatively, the material formed on the surfaces of process equipment by scaling can be removed from time to time which, however, maybe very burdensome. In any case, the conditions within a heat exchanger, includ ^¬ ing possible scaling, should be monitored, most pref ^¬ erably continuously on-line without interrupting the actual heat transfer process at issue, in order to be able to take appropriate measures to prevent scale formation or remove the already accumulated scale ma ^¬ terial .

In prior art, scaling has been monitored or diagnosed e.g. with camera-based techniques, wherein a camera is installed in the process equipment to be analyzed, with acoustic (typically ultrasound) methods, or by simple mechanical methods in which special test ob ^¬ jects are mounted onto the pipe walls. For example, EP 2115452 discloses as a specific example of an appa ^¬ ratus and method for measuring scaling within a spiral wound membrane by transmitting acoustic signal into a tube, measuring the signal reflected from a material interface inside the tube, and comparing the measure ^¬ ment result with a reference signal from a known, clean tube.

The industrial-scale heat exchangers are usually very large systems. For example, in a tubular heat exchang ^¬ er, the flow volume can be formed e.g. by a 10 to 20 m long cylinder with tens or hundreds of meters of heat- ing piping circulating therein. Typically, the flow volume and/or the heating piping is pressurized. This makes monitoring of the internal conditions within the heat exchanger very challenging. Installing any scaling detecting equipment within the heat exchanger may be even impossible, or it may require at least very expensive arrangements.

PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide novel solutions enabling on-line monitoring of scaling in heat exchangers .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in characterized by what is dis- closed in claims 1 and 8.

According to a first aspect, the present invention is focused on an arrangement for monitoring scaling in a primary heat exchanger. In one embodiment, the primary heat exchanger is a primary tubular heat exchanger having a primary flow volume for a first heat transfer fluid, the primary flow volume being connected to a first inlet pipe and a first outlet pipe for conveying the first heat transfer fluid to and from the primary flow volume, respectively. Further, the tubular heat exchanger comprises also a primary heating piping lo- cated within the primary flow volume for a second heat transfer fluid, the primary heating piping being connected to a second inlet pipe and a second outlet pipe for conveying the second heat transfer fluid to and from the primary piping.

The primary tubular heat exchanger can be configured according to the principles known in the art. For ex ^¬ ample, the primary flow volume can be formed as a cy- lindrical vessel wherein the first heat transfer fluid can flow and be present, and wherein the primary heat ^¬ ing piping may be formed as a single, straight tube or e.g. as a long piping circulating within the primary flow volume. The operation principle of a tubular heat exchanger is based on heat transfer between the first heat transfer fluid in the primary flow volume and the second heat transfer fluid in the primary heating pip ^¬ ing. Heat is transferred from the heat transfer fluid with a higher temperature to that of a lower tempera- ture . "Heating" in the expression "heating piping" just refers to the fact that one of the heat transfer fluids is heated, irrespective of whether this is the first or the second heat transfer fluid. The first and the second heat transfer fluids can be any gases or liquids suitable for the heat transfer process in a tubular heat exchanger. Most typically, the heat transfer fluids in industrial processes are water or other process liquids handled in the process- es .

According to the present invention, the arrangement comprises a secondary heat exchanger, which in one embodiment is a secondary tubular heat exchanger having a secondary flow volume which is connected to the first inlet pipe and the first outlet pipe of the pri ^¬ mary tubular heat exchanger for conveying a secondary flow of the first heat transfer fluid to and from the secondary flow volume, respectively. Further, the arrangement comprises a secondary heating piping located within the secondary flow volume and connected to the second inlet pipe and the second outlet pipe of the primary tubular heat exchanger for conveying a secondary flow of the second heat transfer fluid to and from the secondary piping. The secondary tubular heat exchanger thus comprises elements corresponding to those of the primary tubular heat exchanger. Moreover, the secondary flow volume being connected to the first inlet pipe and to the first outlet pipe of the primary tubular heat exchang- er means that the secondary flow volume is open for the flow of the first heat transfer fluid, i.e. the same heat transfer fluid which flows through the primary flow volume. Similarly, the secondary heating piping being connected to the second inlet pipe and to the and second outlet pipe of the primary tubular heat exchanger is open for the flow of the same second heat transfer fluid which flows through the primary heating piping . Further, according to the present invention, the arrangement also comprises a scaling detecting apparatus installed to detect scaling in the secondary heat ex ^¬ changer as an indication of scaling in the primary heat exchanger.

Thus, the basic operation principle of the arrangement is based on indirect monitoring of scaling in the primary heat exchanger via the secondary heat exchanger simulating the conditions within the primary heat ex- changer, and therefore indicating the scaling conditions in the primary heat exchanger. This principle provides many advantages. No scaling detecting appa- ratus is required to be installed in the possibly very large and pressurized primary heat exchanger itself. The secondary heat exchanger may be formed as a sub ^¬ stantially smaller equipment as the actual primary heat exchanger. As a great advantage, the assembly and maintenance of the scaling detecting apparatus and the entire secondary heat exchanger can be performed without disturbing the operation of the primary heat exchanger simply by disconnecting, e.g. by means of suitable valve means, the secondary tubular heat ex ^¬ changer from the inlet and the outlet pipes of the primary tubular heat exchanger.

The basic principle of indirect monitoring of scaling in a primary heat exchanger via a secondary heat exchanger is also applicable to other types of heat ex ^¬ changers than the tubular heat exchangers. In such cases, instead of the primary flow volume and a prima ^¬ ry heating piping located therein, the primary heat exchanger may comprise just any type of a primary first flow volume and a primary second flow volume, separated from each other by a primary heat conductive separation wall (s) , and being connected to first and second inlet and outlet pipes, similarly to the prima- ry tubular heat exchanger described above. Correspond ^¬ ingly, the secondary heat exchanger may comprise a secondary first flow volume and a secondary second flow volume, separated from each other by a secondary heat conductive separation wall (s) , and being connect- ed to the first and the second inlet and outlet pipes of the primary heat exchanger, similarly to the secondary tubular heat exchanger described above. In other words, such arrangement differs from the arrange ^¬ ment described above, based on tubular heat exchang- ers, in that the "flow volumes" are replaced with "first flow volumes", and the "heating pipings" are replaced with "second flow volumes", and the "heat conductive separation walls" correspond to the walls of the "heating pipings". The operation of such heat exchanger is based on heat transfer between the two heat transfer fluids through the heat conductive sepa- ration wall.

With regard to the terminology, the expression "prima ^¬ ry" refers in this document to the actual, operational heat exchanger. Respectively, "secondary" refers to an auxiliary heat exchanger via which the scaling in the primary heat exchanger is monitored. Thus, the expres ^¬ sion "secondary" could be replaced e.g. with an ex ^¬ pression "auxiliary", when the expression "primary" could be omitted. Further, the terms "primary" and "secondary" should not be mixed with the terms "first" and "second", respectively, the latter ones referring to the different parts within one single heat exchang ^¬ er . The present invention is suitable for monitoring scal ^¬ ing wherein the scale formation is dominated by pro ^¬ cesses such as, for example, precipitation fouling, as crystallization of solid salts, oxides and hydroxides from water solutions, for example, calcium carbonate or calcium sulfate; particulate fouling, i.e., accumu ^¬ lation of particles, typically colloidal particles, on a surface; corrosion fouling, i.e., in-situ growth of corrosion deposits, for example, magnetite on carbon steel surfaces; chemical reaction fouling, for exam- pie, decomposition or polymerization of organic matter on heating surfaces; solidification fouling - when components of the flowing fluid with a high-melting point freeze onto a sub-cooled surface; biofouling, like settlements of bacteria and algae; or composite fouling, whereby fouling involves more than one fou- lant or fouling mechanism. As known, the material of the process pipes may affect the scaling formation thereon. Therefore, to ensure that the scaling detected in the secondary tubular heat exchanger corresponds to and represents the scal- ing conditions in the actual primary tubular heat ex ^¬ changer, the secondary heating piping is preferably formed of the same material as the primary heating piping. Similarly, in the case of heat exchangers of some other type, the primary and the secondary heat conductive separation walls are preferably formed of the same material.

Another factor possibly affecting the scaling formation, in particular on the inner surface of the heating piping, is the size and shape of the piping. Therefore, the secondary heating piping has preferably substantially the same cross-sectional shape and size as the primary heating piping. In cases where the heating piping comprises a long, circulating pipe or a plurality of single pipes, said cross-sectional shape and size mean the cross-sectional shape and size of such pipe, not the whole pipe assembly forming the heating piping. Correspondingly, in the case of heat exchangers of some other type, the primary and the secondary first flow volumes, and the primary and the secondary second flow volumes, are preferably formed so as to have the same sizes and shapes.

To unify the conditions within the primary and the secondary heat exchangers, the arrangement may further comprise temperature control means for controlling the temperatures of the secondary flows of the first and the second heat transfer fluids according to the tem ^¬ peratures of the first and the second heat transfer fluids in the first inlet pipe and in the second inlet pipe, respectively. Such temperature control means can comprise any known types of thermometers, heaters, etc .

In tubular heat exchangers as defined above, scaling is typically formed of the substances of the second heat transfer fluid on the inner surface of the heat ^¬ ing piping. Thus, the scaling detecting apparatus preferably comprises an inner scaling sensor configured to detect scaling on the inner surface of the secondary heating piping.

However, also scaling of substances contained in the first heat transfer fluid can be formed on the outer surface of the heating piping. In one embodiment, the scaling detecting apparatus comprises therefore an outer scaling sensor configured to detect scaling on the outer surface of the secondary heating piping.

To monitor scaling both on the inner and on the outer surfaces of the secondary heating piping, the arrange ^¬ ment according to the present invention can comprise both an inner scaling sensor and an outer scaling sensor . In the case of heat exchangers of some other type, scaling is typically formed on the heat conductive separation walls, thus scaling sensor (s) are prefera ^¬ bly configured to detect scaling on the surface (s) of the heat conductive separation walls.

In principle, the scaling detecting apparatus can be based on any known scaling monitoring technology. However, in one preferred embodiment, the scaling detect ^¬ ing apparatus is configured to detect scaling by means of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) . Electrical capacitance tomography ECT is one specific field within the more general field of electrical to ^¬ mography. ECT as such is a known technique allowing non-invasive monitoring of a target domain on the ba- sis of determination of the permittivity within the target domain.

In general, ECT comprises providing a mathematical model of the target domain and the measurement ar- rangement, making capacitance-related measurements, and adjusting the mathematical model so as to reduce the differences between the simulated and the measured electrical quantity values until a sufficient con ^¬ sistency exist, after which the permittivity in the target domain is determined. Typically, this is imple ^¬ mented by generating an image of the permittivity dis ^¬ tribution in the target domain. Permittivity distribu ^¬ tion, and in particular abrupt changes thereof provide information on the internal material properties and distributions within the target domain.

A typical example of utilization of ECT is imaging a multi-phase flow in an industrial process, wherein an image showing the areas or volumes of different phases within the material flow is generated. An example of this kind of method and different practical issues in ^¬ volved therein is discussed in US 7496450 B2.

Recently, the inventors have found it being possible to use ECT also for monitoring scaling of undesired deposit on process equipment surfaces in various in ^¬ dustrial processes. In the context of the present in ^¬ vention, the interest in the permittivity distribution properties is focused on the indications of the pres- ence of scale material on the heating piping surfaces or, more generally, on the surfaces of the secondary heat conductive separation wall. In the case of the scaling detecting apparatus being configured to detect scaling by means of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) , the apparatus can com- prise, in addition to one or more scaling sensors for performing the actual measurements, also computing means for performing the computations required to re ^¬ construct the permittivity distribution. According to a method aspect, the present invention is also focused on a method for monitoring scaling in a primary heat exchanger, which in one embodiment is a primary tubular heat exchanger having a primary flow volume for a first heat transfer fluid, connected to a first inlet pipe and a first outlet pipe for conveying the first heat transfer fluid to and from the primary flow volume, respectively, and a primary heating pip ^¬ ing located within the primary flow volume for a second heat transfer fluid, connected to a second inlet pipe and a second outlet pipe for conveying the second heat transfer fluid to and from the primary piping.

According to the present invention, in the case of tubular heat exchanger configuration, the method com- prises conveying a secondary flow of the first heat transfer fluid from the first inlet pipe to a second ^¬ ary flow volume and further to the first outlet pipe, and conveying a secondary flow of the second heat transfer fluid from the second inlet pipe to a second- ary heating piping within the secondary flow volume and further to the second outlet pipe. Further, the method comprises detecting scaling on the secondary heating piping as an indication of scaling on the primary heating piping. In other words, scaling is actu- ally detected on the secondary heating piping. Scaling conditions on the secondary heating piping provides an indication on the scaling conditions on the primary heating piping. Thus, conclusions on the latter can be made on the basis of the former.

Similarly to the arrangement aspect described above, also the method of the present invention is applicable to any type of heat exchangers where, instead of a "flow volume" and a "heating piping" located therein, there are first and second flow volumes in any form, separated from each other by a heat conductive separa- tion wall. Scaling is then detected on one or more of the surfaces of the heat conductive separation wall.

The secondary heating piping wherein the secondary flow of the second heat transfer fluid is conveyed is preferably formed of the same material as the primary heating piping. Similarly, in the case of heat exchangers of some other type, the primary and the sec ^¬ ondary heat conductive separation walls are preferably formed of the same material.

The secondary heating piping wherein the secondary flow of the second heat transfer fluid is conveyed has preferably substantially the same cross-sectional shape and size as the primary heating piping. Corre- spondingly, in the case of heat exchangers of some other type, the primary and the secondary first flow volumes, and the primary and the secondary second flow volumes, are preferably formed so as to have the same sizes and shapes.

Preferably, the method further comprises controlling the temperatures of the secondary flow of the first heat transfer fluid and the secondary flow of the sec ^¬ ond heat transfer fluid according to the temperatures of the first and the second heat transfer fluids in the first inlet pipe and in the second inlet pipe, re ^¬ spectively. In the method, scaling can be detected on one or both of the inner and the outer surfaces of the secondary heating piping or, more generally, on the surfaces of the secondary heat conductive separation wall.

Preferably, scaling is detected by means of electrical capacitance tomography. What is stated above about the advantages and the de ^¬ tails of the arrangement according to the present in ^¬ vention apply, mutatis mutandis, to the method of the present invention also. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompa ^¬ nying drawings, wherein Figure 1 illustrates, as a perspective and as a cross-sectional view, a system comprising a tubular heat exchanger and an arrangement for monitoring scaling therein, and Figure 2 shows a partial enlargement of the arrangement shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 presents a primary tubular heat exchanger 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as "primary heat exchanger") with a cylindrical, cigar-shaped outer shell 2 enclos ^¬ ing therein a primary flow volume 3. The primary flow volume is in a flow connection with a first inlet pipe 4 as well as a first outlet pipe 5 for supplying a first heat transfer fluid 6 to and from the primary flow volume. A primary heating piping 7 comprising a plurality of u-shaped piping sections 8 is formed within the primary flow volume for a second heat transfer fluid 9 so that heat can be transferred be ^¬ tween the first and the second heat transfer fluids through the walls of the primary heating piping 7. The piping sections are in a flow connection with a second inlet pipe 10 and a second outlet pipe 11 via an inlet chamber 12 and an outlet chamber 13, respectively, for supplying the second heat transfer fluid to and from the primary heating piping 7.

The primary heat exchanger 1 of the example of Figure 1 may be e.g. 12 m long and may have a diameter of the cylindrical outer shell of 2 m, wherein the volumes of the primary flow volume 3 and primary heating piping 7 may be e.g. about 12 m ³ and about 8 m ³ , respectively. However, these are just examples of suitable dimen ^¬ sions . A scaling-monitoring arrangement 100 is connected to the primary heat exchanger 1 for monitoring scaling therein. The arrangement comprises a secondary tubular heat exchanger 101 (hereinafter abbreviated as "sec ^¬ ondary heat exchanger") with a structure similar to that of the primary tubular heat exchanger 1. Similarly to the primary tubular heat exchanger, also the secondary heat exchanger has a cylindrical, cigar- shaped outer shell 102 enclosing therein a secondary flow volume 103 (illustrated as enlarged in figure 2) . The secondary flow volume is in a flow connection with a first auxiliary inlet pipe 104 as well as a first auxiliary outlet pipe 105. A secondary heating piping 107 comprising two u-shaped piping sections 108 is formed within the secondary flow volume 109. The pip- ing sections are in a flow connection with a second auxiliary inlet pipe 110 and a second auxiliary outlet pipe 111 via a secondary inlet chamber 112 and a sec ^¬ ondary outlet chamber 113, respectively. The parts of the secondary heat exchanger 101 are formed of the same material (s) as the corresponding parts of the primary heat exchanger 1. Further, the piping sections 108 of the secondary heating piping 107 are formed so as to have the same shape with a circular cross-section as the piping sections 8 of the primary heating piping 7. Further, also the cross- sectional sizes of those piping sections are the same. The diameter of the cross-section of the piping sections can be e.g. about 40 mm.

The first auxiliary inlet pipe 104 and the first aux- iliary outlet pipe 105 are connected to the first in ^¬ let pipe 4 and to the first outlet pipe 5 of the pri ^¬ mary heat exchanger, respectively, for generating and conveying a secondary flow 106 of the first heat transfer fluid from the first inlet pipe 4 to the sec- ondary flow volume and further to the first outlet pipe .

Similarly, the second auxiliary inlet pipe 110 and the second auxiliary outlet pipe 111 are connected to the second inlet pipe 10 and to the second outlet pipe 11 of the primary heat exchanger, respectively, for generating and conveying a secondary flow 109 of the second heat transfer fluid from the second inlet pipe 10 to the secondary heating piping 107 and further to the second outlet pipe 5.

The length and the diameter of the outer shell 102 of the second heat exchanger 101 may be e.g. about 1.1 m and 0.35 m, respectively. With these dimensions, the volumes of the secondary flow volume 103 and the sec ^¬ ondary heating piping 107 may be e.g. about 75 1 and 50 1, respectively.

The arrangement 100 comprises thermometers 14, 114 in- stalled to measure the temperatures in all the inlet and outlet pipes and in the auxiliary inlet and the auxiliary outlet pipes. To unify the internal tempera- tures in the two heat exchangers, the arrangement fur ^¬ ther comprises a temperature control unit 115 arranged to collect (the connections not shown in the Figures) the temperature data from the thermometers and to ad- just the temperature in the first and the second aux ^¬ iliary inlet pipes 104, 105 so as to match the temper ^¬ atures in the first and the second inlet pipes 4, 5 of the primary heat exchanger 1. To summarize, the secondary heat exchanger 101 pro ^¬ vides a miniaturized model of the primary heat ex ^¬ changer, wherein the same heat transfer fluids are flown in same temperatures in those two heat exchang ^¬ ers. This means that the secondary heat exchanger pro- vides a simulation of the internal conditions within the primary heat exchanger.

As shown more clearly in Figure 2, two ECT sensors 116, 117 are installed in the secondary heat exchanger 101 to detect the presence of scaling on the secondary heating piping 107. One of the ECT sensors 116 is configured to detect scaling on the inner surface of the secondary heating piping 107, whereas the other sensor 117 is configured to detect scaling on the outer sur- face of the same heating piping 107. The sensors can be configured according to the principles known in the art. For example, the inner scaling sensor 116 may be configured to be installed as a part of the secondary heating piping, the sensor comprising electrodes lo- cated in an annular assembly around the secondary heating piping inner volume to measure capacitances between different electrode pairs over said inner vol ^¬ ume. The outer scaling sensor 117, in turn, may be configured to be installed to surround the secondary heating piping 107, the sensor comprising electrodes to measure capacitances between the electrode pairs via the exterior of the secondary heating piping 107, i.e. via the secondary flow volume 103.

By means of the ECT scaling sensors 116, 117, permit- tivity distributions within the secondary heating pip ^¬ ing 107 and within the secondary flow volume 103 near the secondary heating piping surfaces can be determined. The presence of scale on the surfaces of the secondary heating piping 107 can be further determined on the basis of the permittivity distributions. There ^¬ by determined scaling can further be considered as an indication of the scaling conditions within the prima ^¬ ry heat exchanger 1. Naturally, the ECT sensors 116, 117 need to be con ^¬ trolled and the measurement data therefrom collected and processed appropriately in order to determine said permittivity distributions. For these purposes, the sensors may be connected to any appropriate means (not shown in the Figures) comprising e.g. one or more com ^¬ puters with suitable software installed therein. Such means can be configured according to the principles known in the art. It is important to note that the present invention is not limited to the examples described above. Instead, the embodiments of the present invention may freely vary within the scope of the claims. For example, the basic configuration and structure of the tubular heat exchangers can differ from those examples above. In particular, the present invention is not limited to tubular heat exchangers only but is applicable also, for example, to plate heat exchangers.