Indirect heating furnaces for wellhead heating, viscous-crude transport and gas dehydration: water-jacket (water-bath) heaters and vacuum phase-change furnaces, as vessels or fully integrated skids. Heat load 50–2,000 kW, pressure 0.1–10 MPa, thermal efficiency ≥85% with flue-gas heat recovery cutting energy use 15–20%.

Working Principle

Combustion heat is transferred to an intermediate medium — water in a jacket, or water evaporating in a vacuum chamber — which then heats the process fluid in coils. The indirect loop keeps flame away from the process stream for intrinsically safer heating.

1. Water-jacket type: fire-tube combustion heats jacket water; hot water or steam heats the oil–water mixture in coils, with natural circulation keeping heat transfer in balance.
2. Vacuum phase-change type: water vaporises under vacuum; steam condenses on heat-exchanger coils, releasing latent heat into the process medium; condensate returns in a closed loop.
3. Skid execution integrates burner, PLC/DCS controls and safety accessories; overpressure protection and flame-failure cut-off are standard.

Application Scenarios

• Oil & gas fields: viscous-crude viscosity reduction, wellhead heating, gas dehydration and dew-point control, onshore and offshore.
• Refining & chemicals: process-media heating (reaction feeds, solvents) for high-temperature, high-pressure duties.
• Municipal & energy: district heating and industrial wastewater duty with antifreeze circulation for cold regions.
• Extreme environments: desert heat, polar cold, high-sulphur media — corrosion-resistant materials and explosion-proof design.

Product Advantages

Product Range

Water-jacket heating furnaceVacuum phase-change heating furnaceSkid-mounted water-jacket heaterSkid-mounted vacuum phase-change furnace

Customisation Envelope

Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose a vacuum phase-change furnace over direct heating?

The closed-loop phase-change cycle transfers heat at uniform, controllable temperature without local hot spots, preventing coking of the medium, and the flame never contacts the process stream — safer for crude, produced water and hydrocarbon service.

What automation is included in skid heaters?

PLC/DCS remote monitoring with automatic temperature and pressure regulation, overpressure protection and flame-failure shut-off; installation time is cut by about 70% versus stick-built.