Propene is one of the most important raw materials in the chemical industry and is required in many processes as an input material. After a construction period of around two years, the first facility in China has now been put into operation, producing around 600,000 tonnes of propene a year through propane dehydrogenation (PDH) with a Regeneration Air Heater (RAH) developed and built by Hans Hennig and Körting.

The CATOFIN^® process is used in the petrochemical facility in which propane is split into propene and hydrogen in large catalysts. In order for this process to achieve high efficiency, the catalysts must be preheated to 700 °C with hot air under pressure in a batch procedure.

Cross company cooperation between Körting Trading Beijing, Hans Hennig GmbH and Körting Hannover GmbH

The project was developed as a cooperation between the subsidiary KTB (Körting Trading Beijing), Hans Hennig GmbH and Körting Hannover GmbH. Both Hans Hennig GmbH as well as Körting Hannover GmbH were involved in the design of the system with regard to the process engineering. Responsibility for the disciplines of engineering, process calculations, CFD simulations and tests was shared among the companies here. As a result, it was possible to adjust and optimise the flow behaviour, the pressure losses and the pressure tank, among other things, before the actual installation in China. A new grid burner system was also developed in which several independent individual burners are interconnected to form a system. The individual burners are modularly constructed of individual fuel nozzles so that over 500 nozzles in total can be interconnected for a total output of 100 megawatts.

Based on the process design, the series of tests performed and the manufacturing design used, the Air Heater was commissioned by KTB in China. Hans Hennig GmbH delivered all controlled systems required for operation as a ready-to-use rack in a container design, all safety devices, the new grid burner system and 130 tonnes of material for the incombustible lining of the pressure tank. The assembly and commissioning were overseen on-site by both Hans Hennig GmbH and KTB.

More flexible control due to the interconnection of several independent individual burners

The system developed by Körting and Hans Hennig has clear advantages over the competition. It was possible to significantly reduce and simplify the required installations through the targeted use of CFD simulations. The interconnection of several independent individual burners enables a considerably more flexible control of the output of the grid burners. Thanks to the modular design of the Körting/Hans Hennig Air Heater and burner system, the dimensioning for various plant sizes and outputs can be performed very quickly and easily. Manli Yang (Managing Director of Körting Trading Beijing) highlights the flexible handling: “Process guys like our RAH very much. Stable and easy to control.”

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