Petrochemicals
The petrochemicals industry provides the widest range of challenges for rotating equipment. Howden fans, compressors and blowers operate in conditions encompassing extreme pressure and temperature, and handle a wide range of gases containing aggressive and toxic components. Demanding specifications and strict safety requirements must be met and above all is the need for dependable operation over long periods.
Our products meet the challenge of moving gases continually, reliably, efficiently and safely. They are built to API
, or equivalent industry standards and their performance has been proven over many years of operation. We can meet unusual requirements that include dual drive systems with automatic drive engagement/disengagement and special materials of construction.
We have been supplying equipment to the petrochemical industry for many decades, being the first firm to commercialise screw compressor technology and diaphragm compressor technology. We have supplied our equipment to major contractors for installation in plants throughput the world.
Our fans, blowers compressors, fluid drives and heat exchangers are found in all major process plants. The range of applications is very wide but includes
- custom engineered centrifugal process fans for combustion air supply. These may be used directly for fired heaters for ethane or naphtha cracking plant and for processes with steam reforming such as methanol, or for boilers serving general utilities. Flue gas extraction and tail gas clean up are among the other applications for which we have supplied custom fans.
- auxiliary boiler and other pre-engineered fans.
- cooling fans for mechanical draught cooling towers, air-cooled heat exchangers and air-cooled condensers.
- turbo-compressors (blowers) for sulphur recovery combustion and reaction air, sulphuric acid and carbon black plant
- screw compressor systems for process gas handling, notably for butadiene plants, gas turbine gas fuel compression and process refrigeration.
- piston (reciprocating) compressors for hydrogen processes - hydrocracking, visbreaking, catalytic reforming
- diaphragm and piston compressors for hydrocarbon vapour recovery, gas drying, gas treatment and separation, gas recycling and gas injection. Much of our business is in the supply of compressors for polyethylene, polypropylene and PTA plants and in various duties in oil refineries
- package air preheaters for boiler heat recovery