2021 Retrospect
Heat Exchanger World Americas Expo and Conference 2021 took place on 1st and 2nd December at the San Jacinto College’s Lyondell-Basell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology (CPET) in Pasadena, TX. The event provided a diverse and progressive platform for heat exchanger professionals to connect and share their industry expertise.
By Sara Mathov, Heat Exchanger World Toronto office
The dynamic and interactive event gave attendees the opportunity to network with the leading minds who continuously drive ahead innovation and excellence in the fi elds of heat exchanger and heat transfer equipment use, maintenance, and repair. Featuring an exhibition and a technical conference, the event had something to offer for everyone, including manufacturers, fabricators, service providers, EPCs, and end users.
Engaging Exhibition
The tabletop exhibition provided manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors with the chance to showcase their latest products, technologies, services, and capabilities, while simultaneously forming new business relationships and reaffirming old ones. With over 500 attendees, exhibitors were able to meet with key industry professionals interested in diversifying their portfolios.
A first time exhibitor at the event commented, “We have really enjoyed the show and have made great contacts. We go to other shows as well, but we like the smaller events that bring decision makers, and the individuals that use the products, as it gives us more traction. That is one of the reason’s we wanted to come to Heat Exchanger World Americas, because our potential customers are here. The setting is great, this is a prime region for us, and it allows us to explain to people what we do, giving us a lot more credibility in the industry.”
Dynamic Conference
The technical conference similarly gave a platform to heat exchanger experts, from various sectors, to focus on a wide range of topics related to the heat exchanger and heat transfer industries. The conference kicked off with a key-note presentation by the event Chairman, Naomi Jabbari, Heat Transfer Engineer at S&B Engineers & Constructors, who spoke about the energy transition into 2050. This was quickly followed by the second keynote from Chad Burke, Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, who provided a thorough overview of new project developments.
The conference, which consisted of two parallel running workshops had a variety of topics, including: bolted joints, cleaning and antifouling, maintenance and turnarounds, testing and inspection, and more. Presentations in cleaning and antifouling included several industry focused topics such as how to use continuous helical fl ow to reduce fouling, matching the cleaning method to operational goals, heat exchanger bundle technology upgrade programs, reduction in fouling for heat exchangers, and ultrasonics bundle cleaning technology. Similarly, presentations in testing and inspections included tube to tube sheet volumetric weld inspection, a discussion of technologies used to prevent corrosion in heat exchangers, and data capture from industrial torque tools.
The second day of workshops opened with two additional keynote presentations, before continuing with the packed conference program. The thermal design work-shop held in the morning of December 2nd included topics that ranged from evaluating flow induced vibration with u-tube and closed loop hybrid cooling, to avoiding vibration problems in shell and tube heat exchangers and liquid entrainment in kettle reboiler with asymmetrically located nozzles. The material selection and fabrication workshop also included several presentations including: performance of metallic gaskets with nubbin, tube sheet gasket surface machining, overcoming duplex stainless steel heat exchanger challenges in sour service, material and design upgrades to graphite heat exchangers, and much more.
Both days also had several social programs, such as free lunch for everyone attending, coffee and snacks served throughout the whole event, and happy hour on both days.
Quality Experience
In addition to the successful transfer of knowledge delivered through the conference program, both exhibitors and conference delegates were impressed by the quantity and quality of attendees.
“The event has been great, and this is a great area to hold the show,” said one attendee. “Last year it was a combined event with fugitive emissions which was great, but this year the turnout for the heat exchangers has been very impressive. The foot traffic has been constant, and we are really looking forward to next year.”
The event was especially successful due to its amazing sponsors; Brask Inc., Cust-O-Fab, Dun Heat Exchangers, Elliot Tool Technologies, Flexitallic, Koch Heat Transfer, Ohmstede, Teadit, Vahterus, and Ward Vessel & Exchanger. Heat Exchanger World Americas would also like to thank our supporters, BIC Magazine, Chemical Engineering, Downstream Calendar, Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, Inspectioneering, Midstream Calendar, and NARSA.
“We thought it was a great event, and we appreciate Heat Exchanger World for putting it on as it brings attention to a critical piece of equipment in the industry. We are looking forward to seeing even more attendees next year,” said an exhibitor and main sponsor.
Meeting Point
We look forward to inviting the community to the November 2022 event being held at the Pasadena Convention Centre. The Heat Exchanger World team will continue to strive to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, and improve connections between industry professionals. With over 700 people registered for the event, and an expectation for even greater numbers in 2022, the event will be moving across the street to the Pasadena Convention Centre to allow for a bigger show.
For more information, or if you would like to participate in the conference, or submit a paper, please contact Sarah Bradley at s.bradley@kci-world.com