Water Bath Vaporizers

Water bath vaporizers are a special type of coil-wound heat exchanger. They are used in petrochemical and cryogenic plants to vaporize liquefied gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, ethylene, propylene, and natural gas. They operate in a load range from around 500 Nm³/h to 195,000 Nm³/h. Up to three steams of different liquefied gases can be treated in one unit.

Each unit comprises a round water vessel with an overflow nozzle in which a coiled tube bundle is submerged. The water bath is heated by steam lances that inject steam directly into the water. The flow of steam is adjusted by water temperature controllers. During stand-by, a small steam lance keeps the water temperature at 60°C. The water is circulated using buoyancy and gravity, enabling the system to go from zero to full capacity in two minutes.

The tubes are welded into a ring pipe which distributes liquids and also collects gas. The optimum axial and radial layout enable water to flow without any restrictions. The design of the wound tube bundle minimizes material stress and enables fast load and temperature changes. The bundles can be removed to provide easy access for cleaning and inspection.

Our optimized steam injection system eliminates steam hammering and erosion and minimizes noise emissions.

Additional water circulating pumps can be installed for faster availability (less than 10 seconds). Alternative heating sources such as warm water, electrical heaters or combinations of these are available on request.