What is Air Preheater, Air Preheater Tubes and Air Preheater Tube Supplier

In this blog, we will explore the significance of air preheaters (APH), focusing on their role in boosting boiler efficiency by utilizing waste heat from flue gases to preheat combustion air. We will cover various APH tubes and also tube materials and suppliers, highlighting different types like shell and tube, finned, and regenerative designs. Learn how APH systems improve energy savings and reduce emissions across industries.

What is an Air Preheater?

Air Preheaters (APH) are shell and tube heat exchangers utilized to preheat air supplied into boilers, furnaces, or kilns to help in combustion. The primary objective of the boiler air preheater is to gather the lost heat of the flue gases exiting the boiler. APH tubes are frequently used as standard accessory equipment to boilers both packaged type and combi boilers. Air preheater tubes are used to enhance thermal efficiency where existing flue gases are used to heat incoming air in order to facilitate efficient combustion and fuel economy.

Working Principle of Air Preheaters

Air preheaters are shell and tube designed and the flue gas heat is indirectly passed on to the incoming air. The tubes are placed within the shell, either square or triangular pitch, and welded to tube plates. The flue gases and the air may flow over the shell side or alternately on the tube side depending on the nature of operation and cleaning that is required, which offers operational choice and simplified maintenance. This design maximizes heating surface area without the need to increase boiler footprint which guarantees as much heat recovery as possible on the used flue gases to preheat the air introduced into combustion and therefore optimally enhance the boiler performance.

Air Preheater Tubes

The APH tubes are made of either a hot-rolled or a cold-drawn tube but the ends of the tube are either welded or seamless. The dimensions and grade of such tubes are determined by factors in the design of boilers like the type of fuel used, the temperature, pressure, and the demand of steam. The length of such tubes is usually between 5 and 15 meters and the wall thickness is as thin as 10mm. Its surfaces are polished and smooth to increase performance. The best raw materials that are available in the market are used in the production of our air preheater tubes with the best technology to ensure that the product meets the national and international standards. These tubes come in many shapes, sizes, varieties of thickness, and even in tailor-made specifications and they find extensive applications in industries such as power generation, sugar plant, steel production, chemical plants, cooling towers among others, at affordable prices.

APH Tube Specification

APH Tube Material

Common materials used for manufacturing air preheater tubes include:

• Corten Steel: This is the weathering steel which takes the shape of a protective rust-like layer that prevents corrosion. It is very robust and has good capacities in high temperatures of an industrial environment where it is normally applied in boiler air preheaters.
• Carbon Steel: Carbon steel is among the most popular materials used in the manufacture of APH tubes and it complies with different standards such as BS 6323. It offers durability and support to a lot of boiler designs.
• Stainless Steel: Stainless steel air preheater tubes are chosen because they are required in applications that require a higher level of corrosion resistance and increased ability to operate in higher-temperature conditions.

Applications of Air Preheater and APH Tubes

Air preheaters are applied in various industries. The versatility and significance of APH tube material and specifications in increasing boiler performance in different industries are shown by these uses:

• Air preheater tubes are used in power plants to enhance the efficiency of the boiler and massive consumption of fuel is saved with essential consideration of thermal generation of power in large scale.
• Air preheaters are beneficial to industrial steam boilers because it promotes energy recovery, which allows manufacturing plants to maximize the use of steam in different activities.
• The air preheater tubes in chemical and pharmaceutical industries maintain the uniform heating process and the control of the combustion which is critical to the preserving of the process stability.
• Boiler air preheaters are applied in food and beverage processing industries to ensure energy efficiency in terms of sterilizing and cooking processes that involve steam.
• The industries that use plywood and wood use air preheater tubes to aid in the drying process by increasing the amount of heat that boilers produce.
• Textile industries also have enhanced thermal efficiency in the dyeing and drying process using boilers fitted with air preheater systems.
• Air preheater tubes help in the generation of steam which is necessary in the paper and pulp sector in the optimization of the process of pulping and drying.
• The units of sugar and distilleries enjoy the advantage of effective burning of bagasse and other biomass fuel by use of preheater of boiler air.
• Boilers in commercials in hotels, hospitals, and other similar facilities use preheaters of air in order to cut down on the energy expenses and green buildings.
• Air preheater systems are also used in cement and kiln operations where a portion of the air required to burn fuel in rotary kilns and dryers is preheated, which enhances thermal efficiency.

The Bottom Line

In general, adding an air preheater to boiler systems is highly effective in terms of efficiency and fuel economy because it allows to recover waste heat in flue gases to pre-heat incoming air. The process improves combustion, reduces emissions and increases the life span of equipment hence becoming a key ingredient in most industrial processes. In the field of attaining maximum benefits and energy savings across various sectors, proper selection of APH tubes and specifications play a major part in ensuring this.

Your Trusted APH Tube Supplier

USA Piping Solutions is a reputable company in the supply of quality APH tubes. We produce our Air Preheater Tubes using high quality raw materials that are obtained with certified suppliers and latest technology. These tubes are prepared to be of national, and international standards. Our Air pre heaters tubes are of various shapes, sizes, thicknesses and types and we can even make them according to the demands of our clients at the lowest possible costs.