Journal of Engineering in Industrial Research

h-index: 18     i10-index: 25

Reduction of Energy Consumption and Increase in ‎Synthesis Compressor Efficiency in Methanol Units by ‎Designing a Dry Cooling System

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Mohammad Sharei‎ 1
Amin Ahmadpour 2
Asma Rahimi 3

1 Gas Engineering Department, Ahvaz Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology (PUT), Ahvaz, Iran

2 National Petrochemical Industries Company, Petrochemical Research and Technology Company, Center of Petrochemical Special ‎Economic Zone, Mahshahr, Khuzestan, Iran

3 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, ‎‎66177, Iran‎

https://doi.org/10.48309/jeires.2025.506113.1170
Abstract
Airflow is an effective cooling solution for industries due to its abundance and accessibility. Utilizing air-cooled condensers aims to minimize water consumption in cooling towers by alleviating the heat load on turbine condensers. In this project, we simulated the C-3001 turbine system, E-4 condenser, and cooling tower by compiling data from the Meteorology Organization and relevant design specifications. After validating the accuracy of the simulated system, we applied operational conditions. The results revealed that the E-4 condenser faced a heat load exceeding its design capacity, potentially leading to complications within the system. Considering the site's physical conditions, equipment layout, and existing piping, a location was identified for branching the steam outlet from the steam guide hood to the condenser. We determined the maximum steam output and evaluated the feasibility of branching and its effects on turbine behavior through CFD analysis. The findings of this study indicated that condensing more than 20 tons per hour of the turbine's exhaust steam was not feasible. Consequently, we designed and analyzed a new condenser system using CFD. The results showed that this design could reduce the cooling tower's makeup water consumption by 16 cubic meters per hour in the methanol unit, while also positively impacting turbine efficiency and performance. Overall, this design effectively reduces the load on the E-4 condenser, subsequently lowering the turbine's exhaust pressure and enhancing its efficiency. The innovation of this work lies in identifying a solution that decreases the makeup water required for cooling, which could serve as a significant factor in improving turbine efficiency.

Keywords

Methanol
Dry cooling
Fanavaran ‎petrochemical
Turbine condenser
‎Energy reduction

Subjects

OPEN ACCESS

©2025 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Journal of Engineering in Industrial Research
Volume 6, Issue 2
Winter 2025
Pages 128-141

  • Receive Date 11 February 2025
  • Revise Date 18 February 2025
  • Accept Date 24 March 2025

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