More Specification Tips to Maximize Heat Transfer

Presented here are practical points to help in the selection of plate-and-frame and air-cooled heat exchangers With a wider variety of heat exchangers to choose from than ever before, there are a number of variables to be considered when assessing options. As energy-intensive industries increasingly look for ways to improve efficiency, choosing the right heat exchanger to fit the needs of specific applications and systems is critical. In the second part of this two-part series, we look at specification tips to maximize heat transfer in plate-and-frame and air-cooled style heat exchangers in order to boost heat-exchanger performance and increase efficiency. (For part 1, which covered shell-and-tube heat exchangers, see Chem. Eng. February 2022, pp. 42–44).   Plate-and-frame exchangers The plate-and-frame heat exchanger has emerged as a viable alternative to shell-and-tube exchangers for many applications. Such units are composed of a series of plates, mounted in a frame and bolted together. Space between adjacent plates form flow channels, and the system is arranged so that hot and cold fluids enter and exit through ports at the four corners (Figures 1 and 2). FIGURE 1. When the plates of a plate-and-frame exchanger are…