Modeling of fouling from molecular to plant scale

Chapter 5 describes a multiscale approach to modeling of crude oil fouling focused on improving understanding from the molecular level to industrial-scale systems. At the molecular scale, modeling work allows the determination of key parameters, such as diffusion coefficients and fluid physical properties, which can be used in thermodynamic equations of state and detailed fluid-dynamic models to predict fouling deposition in simple flows. At large scale, advanced system models of refinery heat exchangers and heat exchanger networks incorporate the lessons learned from the smaller scale models and provide the ability to predict the future course of fouling. It is shown how these models can be used for accurately assessing operational costs due to fouling, assisting in heat exchanger design, and devising improved operating strategies that minimize costs.