Thermal Oil Heaters & Systems

Thermal Oil Heating Systems

Process heating solutions with thermal oil (heat transfer fluid) require different mandatory and very special components including the heater / boiler itself, but also heat exchangers, consumers, pumps, tanks, armatures, instrumentation, piping design, thermal layout etc.
The thermal oil heaters / boilers are electrical heated or oil/gas-fired – designed and customized, being a part of the complete thermal oil heating system.

Advantages compared to Steam

There are several advantages by using a thermal oil – also called heat transfer fluid (HTF), compared to saturated steam. The most obvious advantages are:

• High operating temperatures – up to 300°C @ atmospheric pressure.
• Adjustable set-points of operating temperatures.
• No equipment for pre-treatment of boiler feed water to maintain.
• No heat loss due to hot condensate and flash steam – high efficiency and better operation economy.
• No risk of corrosion and no risk of freezing damage.
• Low maintenance costs
• Quiet in operation with no steam stroke or flash steam / condensate noise
• Easy to operate (does not require steam boiler certified staff)

When it comes to the complete heating systems (not only the stand-alone boiler/heater) they are always tailor-made and they are delivered as complete packages for assembly on site, or as skid-mounted units when the size allows it.

When using AB&CO as supplier, all above is ensured and the thermal oil heaters will eventually be carefully checked, controlled and function tested prior to dispatch from the workshop and are delivered with a full set of documentation comprising drawings, diagrams, data sheets, specifications, part list and instruction manuals. In EU the units will be CE-marked accordingly.

Design, Standards & Regulation Codes

Thermal oil heaters and the complete thermal oil heating systems are designed and equipped according to the German standard DIN 4754 and different EU codes. For instance, the PED stipulates that these heaters must follow the regulations including being classified and thus designed as pressure vessels – and consequently manufactured accordingly. This is required despite the installation and operation might be pressure-less (atmospheric). Also remember that local fire regulations must be strictly followed. It is highly recommended that the local chief of the fire department is consulted prior to projecting the thermal oil heating system – or changes in this.

Individual Safety Considerations

But following the regulations, this does not automatically ensure high quality. The heater brand and supplier must be carefully considered and chosen – and all parts of the total solution must be international recognized and high-quality main components, such as pressure vessels, pumps, armatures, instrumentation, control, electric heating elements or the burner for natural gas, light fuel oil, heavy fuel oil or combinations (dual fuel).

Correct and safe system design is very important for any high temperature heating system. Therefore, the requirements for the above codes and standards. Safety must also be ensured by using only experienced suppliers for other material, parts and components – and of course also the contractors for building-up the whole system on site.

For thermal oil heating systems there is an additional risk of fatal incidents when dealing with oil and high temperatures. So knowing the details about safety in thermal oil heating system is substantial required knowledge!

Assistance from AB&CO

The AB&CO engineers knows about all those details – and they will know about the features, updated technical knowledge of possibilities, options, but also the threats particular when dealing with these high temperature process heating systems.