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Editor Linda Becker and Austin Memmo, an application engineer with API Heat Transfer, talk about tips for selecting industrial process heat exchangers, including shell-and-tube, plate-and-frame, and shell-and plate designs.
Shell-and-tube heat exchangers — first introduced in the 1900s — have long been used in all types of process applications because of their robust design. Shell-and-tube heat exchangers are able to withstand high pressures and temperatures, and these features are among the reasons for their wide use.
The key to specifying the correct equipment for your heating or cooling demand is to study your process and material. They will define the type of heat exchanger to use.
Industrial applications have numerous requirements for heat exchangers and thermal transfer. Heat exchanger uses span the gamut: compressor and engine cooling, transformer temperature regulation, heat recovery from various processes, and treatment of effluent, digestate and other waste streams, to name a few.
Suited for applications where the fluids have relatively low viscosity with no particles, the plate heat exchangers also can be used where the product outlet temperature is close to the service inlet temperature.
More efficient process heat recovery reduces energy consumption and can bring significant cost savings. Plate heat exchangers are widely used in low- to medium-pressure heat transfer applications.