Overview
ISO 13705:2012 - "Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries - Fired heaters for general refinery service" - is an international standard that specifies requirements and recommendations for the design, materials, fabrication, inspection, testing, preparation for shipment, and erection of fired heaters, air preheaters (APHs), fans and burners used in general refinery service. Published as the third edition in 2012 by ISO/TC 67 SC 6, this standard is focused on fired-process heater systems used across petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas facilities. Note: it does not apply to steam reformers or pyrolysis furnaces.
Key Topics and Requirements
ISO 13705:2012 covers comprehensive technical topics relevant to fired heaters and associated equipment, including:
- Design considerations for combustion, process integration, mechanical structure and pressure-related design codes
- Tubes, headers, piping and manifolds - selection, materials, fabrication and allowable movements/loads
- Tube supports, structures and appurtenances - stress curves, loads and materials for long-term reliability
- Refractories and insulation - brick, castable, ceramic-fibre and multi-component linings
- Stacks, ducts and breeching - static and dynamic design, wind-induced vibration and materials
- Burners, fans and auxiliary equipment - burner systems, sootblowers, fans, dampers and controls
- Instrumentation and connections for flue gas, air and tube-skin monitoring
- Shop fabrication, field erection, testing and inspection - welding examination, castings, testing protocols and preparation for shipment
- Informative and normative annexes - equipment data sheets, purchaser’s checklist, fan and air-preheat system guidance, heater efficiency measurement, stack design and noise measurement
The standard provides both prescriptive requirements and recommendations, and includes buyer/vendor responsibilities and documentation guidance.
Applications and Who Uses It
ISO 13705 is intended for organizations involved in the lifecycle of refinery fired heaters:
- Design and process engineers (refinery, petrochemical, gas processing)
- Mechanical, piping and structural engineers specifying heaters, tubes, headers and supports
- Equipment vendors and fabricators delivering fired heaters, burners, fans and APHs
- EPC contractors, inspection bodies and QA/QC teams overseeing fabrication and erection
- Plant operators and maintenance teams implementing testing, performance measurement and safety practices
Use cases include new heater design, retrofit and upgrading of fired heaters, supplier selection and inspection, and performance/efficiency evaluation.
Related Standards
ISO 13705 references and aligns with several standards, for example:
Keywords: ISO 13705:2012, fired heaters, refinery heaters, petroleum industry standards, heater design, burner systems, air preheater, heater inspection, heater fabrication.