Refinery thermocuples are commonly used in refinry equipment to measure process variable data in the following;
Absorber - Exit temperature of the absorbing liquid and exit specific gravity for the absorbing liquid.
Condenser - Outlet gas stream temperature.
Carbon absorber - temperature of carbon bed.
Thermal incinerator – Firebox temperature.
Catalytic incinerator - Temperature upstream and downstream of the catalyst bed.
Boilers or process heaters - Firebox temperature.
Burner Combustion Control
Boilers are often the principle steam or hot water generator system used in industrial plant or commercial heating.
Burner combustion control generally includes one or a combustion of the following methods;
Total heat control,
Regulation of excess air,
Burner cross - limiting.
Tube skin thermocouple sensors are used to control advance warming of flue gases to provide a better heat transfer rate in boilers. This can result in substantial savings on fuel.
The following links are sources of additional information about petrochemical refining and processing;
