HotCat models HC288 straight tube, HC350 u-tube, HC850 u-tube

Bruest HotCat is the
Ultimate in Lean, Efficient
Pipeline Heating Systems

Advanced Pipeline Heating
Systems Have No Moving Parts,
are Easy to Maintain

HotCat pipeline heating systems consist of
multiple catalytic infrared gas heaters that
apply a precise level of heat directly to the
custom-engineered heat exchanger. 
Bruest pipeline heating systems employ
greater surface area by enlarging the pipe
diameter in the heat exchanger.  This
maximizes heat transfer while slowing the
flow of gas.  This results in highest-possible
retention time – and best-possible transfer
of heat energy to the gas.

The Bruest pipeline heating system is a stand-
alone system that’s custom-engineered
to the application, and self-contained: the
pre-plumbed fuel gas manifold that feeds the
Bruest Catalytic gas heaters is built into the
unit, as are the heat exchanger tubes. 
Both are ASME stamped.

Quiet Operation:
No Firetube Noise

The dull roar of a firetube from a water
bath is commonly described by operators –
and neighbors – as resembling a freight train.

Bruest catalytic pipeline heating systems are
quiet; regardless of operational mode, they are
noiseless, and highly preferable to water
baths for sites such as town border stations.

HotCat Pipeline Heating
Systems Deliver Maximum
Efficiency

To fully understand the critical differences
between HotCat pipeline heating systems and
water baths, start with what you need to do to
properly size them for your application.

With a water bath, you need 3 datapoints: 
the temperature of gas entering the compressor
or regulator station, the outlet temperature,
and the flow rate – the number of cu. ft. per
hour flowing.  From there, determine how
much heat will be needed to achieve the
desired outlet temperature,  keeping in mind
that pressure cut reduces temperatures, and
you’ll need to compensate for this
“refrigeration effect.” 

If, for example, you have 45-degree incoming
gas, and the pressure cut lowers that to 5 degrees. 
You need it at 60 degrees, so, the task is to
calculate how much heat must be applied to
the gas, prior to the pressure cut, to achieve
50 degree gas on the outlet. 

If it takes 700,000 BTU to raise a given quantity
of gas to a certain temperature – that’s the
duty factor.  So, you engineer a heat exchanger
to deliver that.  The Bruest pipeline heating
system has 70% transfer efficiency. So, what
capacity should our system be?  If duty is
700,000 BTU per hr, and we’re 70% heat
efficient, we need a 1 million BTU unit to
achieve the specified outlet temperature.

The difficulty of water baths is that they
are not 70% efficient, but 50-55% efficient. 
So, if you apply the 50% and duty is 700,000,
you will need a 1.4 million BTU unit – a
substantial over-kill, compared to the clean,
efficient HotCat. To summarize . . .

Why Do Water Baths Top-out
at Just 50-55% Efficiency?

The answer is Indirect heating, as opposed
to the direct heating of HotCat pipeline heating
systems.  Water baths involve 4 stages of heat
transfer, and with every stage, heat energy
is lost. 

The four transfers are: (1) heat source (flame)
to fire tube, (2) fire tube to water-glycol mix,
(3) glycol mix to steel tube bundles, and
(4)tube bundles to natural gas

The HotCatpipeline heating system uses
catalytic infrared as the source, instead of a
flame.  It producesclean, flameless infrared
energy, and it heats the heat exchanger
with just two transfers: (1) infrared to heat
exchanger and (2) heat exchanger to the gas.

Pay for Energy You Need,
Only When You Need It

A second decisive difference between the
Bruest pipeline heating system and water
bath devices is when they have to be on –
and not.  Water baths have two settings –
high and low.  Their turndown ratio is 2:1,
and when demand is not high, they still
must maintain a substantial volume of
glycol-water mix at 120 degrees.  And the
system cycles on and off to maintain that
temperature level, even when there is little
or no flow.  (When demand rises, you can’t,
after all, start-up with cold solution.) 

The Bruest pipeline heating system is zoned,
and has turndown ratios of 8:1 at the lowest,
and 16:1 at the highest, (for automated
systems).  So when it’s summer, or demand
is otherwise low, our system can be turned
completely off.  Operational costs plummet,
because there is no vessel full of solution
sitting around, keeping warm. 

The Bruest system is automated, with
sensors for inlet and outlet and set point
controls that call for more heat when needed. 
And then, it’s only for the quantity of heat
actually needed, based on the specified
outlet temperature.  When the desired outlet
temperature is achieved, the system once
again enters shut-down mode.

Bruest Pipeline Heating
Systems Offer Installation
Flexibility

A water bath / firetube device requires 15’ of
clearance outside the Division 1-2 perimeter. 
Bruest HotCat gas heaters can be installed in
Class 1, Division 1 or 2, Group D areas
without restriction.

Remote Control
Saves Time, Labor

HotCat’s design allows real-time start-up and
control from your command center.  Systems
are engineered with zones that allow turn-down
ratios of up to 16:1 for greatest efficiency.

Facing a “Nor’easter?”  Perilous driving, and
plowing through snow banks is yesterday’s
problem.  With Bruest pipeline heating
systems, as demand increases, operators can
respond immediately, directing the precise
amount of heat needed, precisely where it’s
needed.  And because the heat is direct,
pipeline heating is fast and efficient.  When
the demand changes, downward adjustments
are also made quickly, reducing energy
consumption, saving time, labor and dollars,
and improving overall safety.

The Bruest HotCat monitors gas inlet
temperature to provide positive, immediate
control of gas outlet temperatures, without
costly instrument configurations.

HotCat Pipeline Heating
Systems are the Best
Freeze Protection for
Natural Gas Lines & More

The technology is also applicable for
the heating of:

• high pressure gas from wellheads
  and distribution stations

• natural gas at gate stations

• high pressure gas from oilfields

• fuel gas for turbines and compressors

• light hydrocarbons

HotCat Application Questionaire

Go to Systems Drawings

Bruest HotCat gas heaters are protected by
US and Canadian patents.
© 2010. Bruest Catalytic Heaters

Division of Catalytic Industrial Group, Inc.
20th and Sycamore • P.O. Box 827
Independence, KS 67301
800.835.0557 • 620.331.0750 • Fax: 620.331.3402
E-Mail: ken@cat-group.com