Indirect Heaters and their usage in Oil and Gas Production

Introduction

This paper will be discussing the indirect heaters and their usage in oil and gas production. This type of heater is designed taking into account the process conditions necessary to ensure the most appropriate gas temperature for the equipment located. Indirect heaters are specifically studied for seasons in which it is difficult to produce hot water or steam for heating the gas. They represent an optimal solution also lack of power: in fact, methane Implant is able to provide pneumatically controlled heaters (Bullard & Herendeen, 268). These devices can be supplied in trays, including all instruments and wiring, in order to reduce activities and costs related to installation on site.

Discussion

An indirect electric heater has its heating elements encased in a secondary sheath.  As mention in our electric immersion heater section, they are also found in Glycol Reboiler in Natural Gas dehydration plant. An indirect electric heater is commonly used as the heat source in a Glycol Re-boiler. Glycol Re-boiler - In gas processing plant, a Glycol Dehydration Unit (GDU) is commonly employed to dehydrate (dry) natural gas before it is compressed or distributed. A typically dehydrated pipeline gas would contain around 7 lbs of water per million standard cubic foot of gas.

In the GDU, wet natural gas is flowed through a glycol contactor tower. This glycol such as Triethylene Glycol (TEG) has an affinity for water.  As the gas comes in contact with the glycol, the glycol will absorb the water from the natural gas. Some means of scrubbing is provided at the discharge of the tower to minimize glycol carry over as the dehydrated gas leaves the tower (Hall, Cleveland & Kaufmann, 63).

Gas Hot Water Heaters

Standard tank style water heaters that heat water using natural gas are some of the most common water heaters installed in most homes. With just minor maintenance a gas hot water heater can provide you with years of trouble free service. Gas hot water heaters can store 20, 40, even 50 gallons or more of hot water at any given time. Tankless varieties are also available though they are typically more expensive to buy and install than a traditional heater that utilizes a storage tank (Hall, Cleveland & Kaufmann, 64). Gas water heaters function based on convection, a standard law of physics. Don't be scared though, convection is simply a fancy way of describing the way heat raises. Cold water enters the bottom of the tank which is then heated by a gas burner below the tank. The hot water rises to the top, where it is distributed to your home.

The cold water enters the tank through what is referred to as a dip tube. Water enters and leaves the tank from the top, though the dip tube is much longer allowing it to reach to the bottom of the tank. Drawing water from the top of the tank ensures the warmest water in the tank is always being distributed while the coldest water in the tank is closest to the ...