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This cabin-type heater with wall-mounted burners was one of Struthers Wells first fired
heater installations in 1927.
History Timeline
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•1851 |
Struthers Wells
established in Warren, PA as a foundry and
manufacturer for the agricultural industry |
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•1859 |
Oil was discovered at Drake Well in Titusville, PA
and Struthers
Wells became involved as a designer and fabricator of
process
equipment for the oil industry. |
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•1908 |
Struthers Wells produced the first all-welded
carbon steel
pressure vessel |
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•1940-65 |
Struthers Wells achieved worldwide recognition as
a designer
and fabricator of process and energy related equipment
including
the following firsts:
• Developed the first forced circulation thermal fluid vaporizer
• Manufactured the first furnace used for thermal cracking of
ethylene dichloride (EDC)
• Designed and built the first Once-Through-Steam-Generator
(OTSG) for enhanced oil recovery |
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•1994 |
The intellectual property of Struthers Wells was
purchased by
Struthers Industries, Inc. |
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•2005 |
The intellectual property of Struthers Wells and
Struthers
Industries, Inc. was purchased
by Thermal Engineering
International to form TEi-Struthers Wells
as its business
group. |
Industry Firsts
Struthers Wells began in 1851 as a manufacturer of
pressure vessels, boilers, and steam-powered machinery.
Since building its first refinery heater in 1927,
Struthers Wells has continued to set the standard for
high-temperature heating systems. No company can match
the breadth and depth of experience in all aspects of
fired heater technology. Here are just a few firsts by
Struthers Wells.
• Developed the forced-circulation thermal fluid
vaporizer that has now become the clear first choice in
organic fluid vaporization technology.
• Manufactured the first furnace used for thermal
cracking (pyrolysis) of ethylene dichloride (EDC) to
produce vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) in 1960, replacing
the older and more troublesome catalytic process. This
initial success was followed by the supply of over 100
EDC cracking furnaces worldwide.
• Designed and built the first oil-field heater
generating 80% quality steam at up to 2,500 psig using
high TDS feedwater. This pioneering once-through boiler
design quickly became the industry standard for
secondary thermal enhanced oil recovery. Struthers Wells
followed this success with over 1200 installations and
60 billion Btu/h ( 17,600 MWt) installed capacity
worldwide.
• Developed a convective-only titanium tetrachloride
(TiCl4) preheater/boiler/superheater to achieve the
lowest practical film temperatures with low overall
pressure drop. The tightly controlled film temperatures
permitted the use of metal tubes instead of unwieldy
quartz tubes.
Today, TEi-Struthers Wells is committed to continuously
improving on its proven technology, producing heaters
that are more efficient and reliable than ever before.
Six EDC cracking furnaces convert ethylene dichloride (EDC)
to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) by thermal cracking (pyrolysis).
Each furnace is rated at 47 million Btu/h (13.8 MWt)
absorbed heat duty.
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