The principal objective of this project was to define practical methods for increasing energy efficiency and
reducing emissions of gas fired immersion fire-tube heaters used in the petroleum industry. In addition,
these methods were designed, to provide the improvement to the largest number of both the existing
heaters, and new installations, at the lowest cost and with a minimum of modifications.
A detailed study of the existing technology, background information, literature, and the existing standards,
led to the conclusion, that many relevant references are outdated, incomplete, unclear, or may in some
cases, be partially to blame for the lower efficiencies. To address this “information-gap” a detailed
guideline of the fire-tube heater efficiency principles was prepared. Numerous graphs are included to help
in estimating the impact of these parameters on the heaters efficiency.