Careers Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Fouling Removal
Restore Heat Transfer with Engineered Shell- and Tube-Side Cleaning
Address difficult shell- and tube-side fouling, restore heat transfer and return blocked or hard-to-access heat exchangers to inspection-ready condition with TubeTech™ engineered cleaning services.
TubeTech™ guarantees the removal of fouling from both the shell and tube sides of heat exchangers. Our advanced technology is engineered to handle any fouling type or severity, restoring performance to IRIS inspection standards—even in blocked or hard-to-access exchangers.
Our technologies address a wide range of fouling types and severities, with a 90%+ clean guarantee. From twisted-tube and spiral-tube exchangers to U-tube, hairpin and conventional shell-and-tube configurations, each cleaning programme is engineered around the exchanger geometry, deposit characteristics and inspection requirements.
TubeTech™ supports refineries, chemical plants and processing facilities worldwide, helping operators reduce downtime, recover thermal efficiency, lower energy consumption and avoid premature exchanger replacement.
Specialist Heat Exchanger Cleaning Applications
Twisted Tube Heat Exchangers
TWISTED TUBE® Heat Exchangers by Koch Heat Transfer offer more efficient and reliable performance results than some traditional shell and tube heat exchangers. The unique twisted design provides an increase in heat transfer surface area and as such is favored for more challenging heat exchange processes like hot crude oil versus viscous hot vacuum residue, for example.
The Challenge – Fouling Within Cleaning Lanes
Whilst TWISTED TUBE® Heat Exchangers typically have a 40% higher heat transfer coefficient, fouling can still accumulate in ‘cleaning lanes’ on the shell side. If fouling builds up, the exchanger can become very difficult to clean.
The Solution: Rovex® Robotic Shell-Side Cleaning
Rovex® is engineered to access the cleaning lanes of twisted-tube heat exchangers and remove deposits throughout the length of the bundle. Its controlled cleaning system penetrates between the tubes to address scale, compacted deposits and blockages while minimizing the risk of damage to the exchanger.
U-Tube (Hairpin) Heat Exchangers
One of the most common heat exchangers in refineries and processing facilities is the straight or U-Tube hairpin shell and tube exchanger. These types of exchangers are popular as they maximize tube surface and heat exchange in a confined space and the bundle is easily removed for cleaning.
The Problem – Blocked or Restricted Heat Exchangers
This type of heat exchanger commonly suffers from fouling build-up. Taking several exchangers offline can cost your facility hundreds of thousands of dollars in production downtime and traditional methods often fail to remove tenacious fouling.
How Can We Help?
TubeTech™ selects the appropriate shell- and tube-side cleaning technologies according to the exchanger design, fouling composition and inspection requirements. For difficult shell-side deposits, Rovex® can penetrate deep between tube rows, while specialist tube-side systems remove internal blockages and prepare tubes for inspection.
The service delivers a 90%+ clean guarantee with minimal disruption to the maintenance schedule.
Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Cleaning Case Studies
Titanium U-Tube Heat Exchanger Restored for Inspection
An Arabian gas liquefaction company shipped a titanium U-tube (hairpin) heat exchanger to TubeTech™’s UK research and development facility so that our dedicated team could remove calcium carbonate and tenacious silicate deposits from within the fragile tubes to restore heat transfer efficiency.
“TubeTech™ achieved 7% and promised to attain 95%-plus if required. This avoided a full and expensive retube costing at least $250,000.”
TubeTech™ Restores Offshore Crude Oil Heaters
The operator of one of the largest offshore projects in the North Sea required an effective heat transfer efficiency restoration solution for two of their crude oil heaters ready for inspection.
- Both crude oil heaters were fouled with a gooey consistency deposit believed to contain sand and other organic content.
- Both units required inspection and restoration to a suitable IRIS standard.
“Very good safety culture and professional approach. Technicians always on time and very professional – a credit to TubeTech™.”
Rovex® Cleans Four Twisted-Tube Bundles After Previous Methods Failed
A facility located in South Africa had tried to remove fouling from its TWISTED TUBE Heat Exchangers by Koch Heat Transfer several times with limited success.
- 4x Twisted Tube Heat Exchanger by Koch Heat Transfer bundles each with 960 triangular pitch horizontal tubes.
- Client requested a 90% production standard of fouling removal to the internal and external surfaces.
- This critical path project was successfully completed within the timeframe specified by the client.
- Click here to read the case study
What do our customers say?
“We were really impressed with TubeTech™’s performance and how clean the bundles are – the cleanest we have seen them since installation in 2008!”
Process Engineer
Contact a Heat Exchanger Cleaning Specialist
90%+ clean guarantee · IRIS inspection-ready results · Up to 5x faster cleaning