Cokebusters USA Presents at ‘Fouling in Fired Heaters’ Seminar in Texas

Last week Cokebusters USA, supported by Managing Director of Cokebusters Ltd James Phipps, presented at the ‘Fouling in Fired Heaters‘ Seminar hosted by XRG Technologies in Baytown, Texas.

The event brought together a select industry audience to explore the challenges of fouling, heat transfer and process optimisation, decoking and inspection in fired heater systems. James delivered a presentation on the evolution of mechanical cleaning practices and the development of Smart Pig inspection technology, supported by recent case study examples from international operational deployments.

Attendees also heard expert perspectives from XRG Technologies, PROtect LLC and IGS | Integrated Global Services, creating a collaborative forum for addressing one of the refining industry’s most persistent integrity challenges.

Two Decades of Fired Heater Inspection Innovation

James’ presentation traced our heritage in fired heater inspection, positioning the company as one of the first to bring compact Smart Pig technology to market. Over more than two decades, we have innovated and refined our approach to mechanical cleaning and intelligent inspection, developing tooling capable of navigating the complex geometric constraints of process tubing.

The seminar provided an opportunity to showcase how inspection technology has advanced from early twin-bodied mechanical solutions, powered by AA batteries, to today’s world-class patented inspection tools.  This evolution has been driven by a consistent focus on solving the mechanical challenges first; ensuring tooling can reliably traverse complex tube geometries, before integrating advanced ultrasonic inspection capabilities.

The drive to innovate Smart Pig technology has always been to answer two critical questions: what is the anomaly and where is it located?  This combination of detection and precise axial and circumferential location supports informed decision-making on asset health, maintenance scheduling and risk management, while reducing reliance on invasive inspection methods and minimising operational downtime.

Addressing Industry Challenges Through Collaboration

Fouling in fired heaters remains a significant operational and safety concern across the refining sector. The accumulation of coke, scale and other deposits can lead to reduced heat transfer efficiency, increased fuel consumption, tube overheating and in severe cases, catastrophic failure.

The seminar explored how advances in inspection technology, combined with improved understanding of fouling mechanisms and flow dynamics, are enabling more proactive integrity strategies. By integrating intelligent inspection with mechanical cleaning capabilities in one combined service, operators can better understand the condition of their assets, extend run lengths where appropriate and intervene with greater precision when required.

Industry Dialogue and Future Collaboration

Commenting on the event, James Phipps said:

“The quality of dialogue throughout the day was exceptional. It’s always great to engage with operators and engineers who are dealing with these challenges first-hand. We’re grateful to XRG Technologies for hosting such a well-organised event and fostering the kind of collaborative environment where real problem-solving happens! We look forward to future opportunities to work together.”

The seminar reflects a broader industry trend toward knowledge sharing and cross-discipline collaboration in addressing fouling, flow assurance and integrity management in high-temperature process environments. Events of this nature provide a valuable platform for service providers, technology developers and end users to exchange insights and explore solutions that balance operational efficiency with asset integrity and we were very pleased to be a part of the day.