With ongoing global supply pressures and geopolitical instability, many refineries and petrochemical plants are delaying turnarounds and operating at maximum capacity for longer periods. While this approach protects output and margins, it also increases exposure to fouling, corrosion, and unplanned downtime risk.
In this environment, energy efficiency, reliability, and asset integrity are immediate operational priorities. The ability to maintain performance between turnarounds is becoming critical to sustaining production without interruption.
To operate reliably under these conditions, plants must take a more proactive, in-run approach to maintenance and performance. The following outlines three key ways for refinery and petrochemical facilities to improve energy efficiency, reliability, and asset integrity without waiting for the next turnaround.
1. Reduce fuel costs, remove bottlenecks, and maximise throughput
When plants are operating at full capacity, even small inefficiencies in fired heaters can limit throughput and incur significant fuel penalties. Under high utilisation, heaters often become bottlenecks, restricting capacity and increasing operating costs.
Fuel combustion accounts for nearly 80% of refinery emissions and is also one of the largest cost drivers. Fired heaters alone emit an estimated 400 - 500 million tpy of CO2, and a 1 - 2% efficiency loss can add over US$1million/yr in additional fuel costs. Across continuously operating units, this quickly impacts margins.
Improving heater efficiency is therefore a direct lever for increasing throughput and controlling costs. Technologies such as Cetek ceramic coatings enhance radiant section efficiency, while TubeTech™ fouling removal restores convection section heat transfer during short outages. Together, these solutions reduce fuel demand and help sustain performance between turnarounds.
Recent TubeTech results at a North American refinery include:
- ~4.0 million Btu/hr fuel savings per heater.
- ~20% improvement in heat transfer performance.
- ~US$1 million + annual value per heater from efficiency recovery.
In high-demand environments, these improvements support stable operation, higher capacity utilisation, and reduced fuel spend.
2. Protect asset integrity and avoid unplanned failures
As turnaround intervals extend, internal corrosion and erosion become increasingly difficult to manage. If not addressed, degradation within vessels, towers, and heat exchangers can restrict flow, reduce efficiency, and increase the likelihood of unplanned outages.
To mitigate these risks without extending downtime, operators are adopting targeted integrity solutions delivered within short, controlled outages. High Velocity Thermal Spray (HVTS), for example, applies a dense, corrosion-resistant alloy cladding that restores and upgrades internal surfaces without the delays or metallurgical risks associated with traditional repair methods.
This approach enables rapid return to service, extends asset life, and reduces the need for future repairs, supporting sustained performance between turnarounds. Case Study: Protecting Critical Weld Zones and Tube Sheet Substrates for Long-Term Furnace Efficiency
3. Maintain fired heaters between turnarounds
With turnaround intervals extending, fired heaters must be maintained during operation to avoid performance loss and unplanned outages. Even localised issues, such as refractory failure, can result in losses exceeding US$1 million/day if they lead to shutdown.
A structured, in-run maintenance approach enables early detection and targeted intervention before issues escalate. In practice, degradation often impacts performance before failure, often forcing operators to reduce throughput. In one case, a CCR unit reduced production by over US$400 000/day due to refractory-related hot spots.
Key measures include inspection, fouling management, radiant tube protection, and continuous monitoring of operating conditions. Increasingly, these are supported by online technologies that allow maintenance to be carried out while the heater remains in service.
Online repair solutions, such as Hot-tek™, enable targeted interventions without taking the heater offline or limiting production. These methods can be mobilised quickly and provide effective, semi-permanent repairs until the next planned turnaround. In critical situations, this approach has avoided shutdowns valued at over US$156 million.
By combining online maintenance with short-duration offline interventions, operators can stabilise performance, reduce risk, and sustain throughput throughout extended operating cycles.
Conclusion
With turnaround windows being delayed and assets running at higher capacity, the cost of inefficiency and unplanned downtime continues to rise. Operators that take a proactive approach, improving heater efficiency, managing corrosion, and maintaining performance during operation, are better positioned to protect margins and sustain output.
A combination of short-duration outages and online maintenance enables measurable gains in efficiency, reliability, and asset life, without interrupting production.
Partnering with a reliable maintenance provider is often the first step to realising fuel and efficiency-saving potential. IGS is pleased to offer free fired heater technical evaluations to determine efficiency improvements (%) and the payback period as well as projected (%) improvement based on plant objectives (fuel/emissions reduction, capacity increase, or a combination of both).
Request a complimentary fired heater thermal efficiency audit to identify opportunities to improve throughput, reduce fuel costs, and maintain performance between turnarounds.