Thermal oil heating systems
Pirobloc’s thermal oil heating systems deliver precise, uniform heat at near-atmospheric pressure, ensuring superior reliability, efficiency and durability. All our thermal oil heating systems are custom engineered and 100% in-house manufactured at our facilities. After commissioning, we provide a complete after-sales service and lifecycle support. We provide turnkey solutions for the most demanding industrial heating applications
PROCESS HEATING TURNKEY SOLUTION
Pirobloc delivers fully integrated, turnkey thermal fluid heating systems. Our comprehensive scope covers everything from initial process analysis and custom engineering to equipment manufacturing, commissioning, and ongoing maintenance. This end-to-end approach ensures your installation is perfectly optimized for your specific application, maximizing productivity, reliability, and system longevity.
Our thermal oil heating systems can operate with gas or electricity, which gives our customers the ability to decide which energy source fits their needs best.
A complete engineered system
An industrial thermal oil system operates on a simple, robust principle. The core of the system is the heater, and Pirobloc gives you the flexibility to choose the optimal energy source based on cost and availability.
While the thermal oil heater is the heart of the operation, a truly reliable and safe installation is an integrated system of critical components. A Pirobloc turnkey solution includes the complete engineered loop:
- High-Efficiency Heater: The core unit where thermal energy is generated.
- Primary Circulation Pump(s): Specially designed centrifugal pumps with high-temperature seals to circulate the fluid reliably.
- Expansion Tank: A critical component for accommodating fluid expansion and removing entrained air and moisture to protect the fluid and the system.
- Valves & Instrumentation: High-quality isolation valves, control valves, and sensors for pressure, temperature, and flow monitoring.
- Piping & Integration: All interconnecting piping, expertly designed to manage thermal expansion and minimize pressure loss.
- Advanced Control System: A central PLC-based panel that automates, monitors, and ensures the safety of the entire system.
KEY BENEFITS OF THERMAL OIL HEATING SYSTEMS
Using a thermal fluid heater as the heat carrier in a closed-loop circuit provides a series of powerful advantages:
1. High temperatures at low pressure
Operate efficiently at temperatures up to 400°C (750°F) while remaining at or near atmospheric pressure. This drastically reduces mechanical stress on components and eliminates the need for high-pressure certified personnel and equipment.
2. Exceptional energy efficiency
We achieve industry-leading thermal efficiencies) of up to 92%. This performance is the result of a multi-pass coil design that maximizes the heat transfer surface area, combined with an integrated air preheater. This key component captures waste heat from exhaust gases and uses it to warm the air entering the combustion chamber, resulting in:
- Fuel savings of up to 10%.
- Improved and more stable combustion.
- Lower overall stack emissions.
The closed-loop design eliminates energy losses associated with blowdowns or condensate return.
3. Precise and uniform temperature control
The low pressure and high heat capacity of thermal fluid allow for exceptionally precise temperature control, often within ±1°C at the point of use. This uniformity is critical for sensitive applications, improving final product quality and reducing rejection rates.
4. Lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
- No Water Treatment: Thermal fluids are non-corrosive, eliminating the costs of water softeners, chemical dosing, and deaerators.
- Reduced Maintenance: The absence of corrosion, scale, and high pressure results in extended equipment life and significantly lower maintenance overhead.
- Automated Operation: Our systems are designed for fully automatic, unattended operation, reducing labor costs.
5. Zero local emissions with electric heaters
For facilities with strict environmental regulations or ESG goals, our electric thermal oil heaters offer a definitive advantage. By eliminating on-site combustion, they produce zero local emissions. This means no emission of atmospheric pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulates, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), providing a clean, quiet, and powerful solution for the future of process heating.
Thermal oil systems overcome the challenges of steam or direct heating, such as:
- High pressure required to achieve high temperatures.
- Corrosion and scaling.
- Inefficiency due to significant energy loss.
- Difficulty of maintaining a precise and uniform temperature across the process.
This closed-loop, indirect process ensures that the heater and piping are not subjected to process contamination, thermal shock, or corrosion, guaranteeing a much safer and more reliable operation than direct heating or steam.
SAFETY FEATURES
Safety is the primary engineering principle in every Pirobloc system. Standard safety features include:
- Inert Gas Blanketing: The expansion tank is blanketed with nitrogen (N2) to prevent oxidation of the thermal fluid, extending its life and preventing volatile vapor formation.
- Multi-Layered Interlocks: Systems include differential pressure switches to ensure fluid flow before the burner can operate, as well as high/low temperature and pressure safety interlocks.
- Certified Burner Management Systems (BMS): We integrate burners with advanced BMS to ensure clean, efficient combustion and the lowest possible emissions, compliant with environmental regulations.
- Thermal insulation is used to cover hot oil piping and equipment that is operating at temperatures above ambient temperature, contributing to the safety of operators and facilities. Thermal insulation prevents flammable liquids from being absorbed and limit heat transfer and surface temperature, for the protection of personnel.
- Compliance & Certification: Our systems are designed and manufactured in accordance with major international standards, including the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED 2014/68/EU) and ASME codes.
MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS
The flexibility and performance of thermal oil make it the ideal solution for countless sectors:
- Chemical: Reactor heating, reboilers, and material processing.
- Food & Beverage: Frying systems, industrial ovens, and pasteurization.
- Plastics & Rubber: Press heating, molding, and extrusion.
- Oil & Gas: Crude oil heating, regeneration gas, and downstream processing.
- Storage tank eating in port terminals.
- Wood & Building Materials: Press heating for particleboard, MDF, and laminates.
- Adhesives and glues.
- Textile industry.
- Industrial laundries.
- Solar energy production.
- Wastewater treatment.
- Paper drying.
- Flexography and rotogravure.
- Hydraulic presses.
- …and many more.
