Abstract: In the original solvent recovery column reboiler of a benzene extraction unit, the heat exchanger tube bundle utilizes ordinary smooth tubes, resulting in low heat transfer efficiency and high energy consumption. This paper introduced a high-efficiency enhanced heat transfer tube with spiral grooves on both inner and outer surfaces. The heat transfer enhancement effects of the tube was validated through theoretical analysis and CFD simulation. Meanwhile, the design calculation results for smooth tubes and reinforced tubes were compared based on the process conditions of the reboiler. The results show that under the same thermal load, the total heat transfer coefficient of the enhanced tube reboiler was 38% higher than that of the original reboiler; after implementing enhanced heat transfer tubes in the recovery column reboiler, its steam consumption was reduced by 14.04% compared to the period prior to their deployment. The above results demonstrate that the high-efficiency enhanced tubes can achieve the objectives of both improving heat transfer efficiency and reducing energy consumption, providing a crucial theoretical basis for the retrofit of solvent recovery column reboilers.

Key words: reboilerlenhanced heat transferlenhanced tubelheat transfer efficiency