Heating of process water by means of steam at very low pressure

Tubular heat exchanger intended for the heating of process water

Recently we have received a request for the design and manufacturing of a tubular heat exchanger for the replacement of an existing plate heat exchanger, intended for the heating of process water by means of steam at very low pressure. Our client wanted to analyze this option due to the continuous stops in its system, produced by the loss of effectiveness in the current plate exchanger, given the presence of residues in the process water.

Initially, when the system was designed, the client opted for a plate heat exchanger that, compared to an equivalent tubular heat exchanger, is always a compact design and an economical solution. But the tendency to fouling in process water was not taken into consideration. Hence, the operation of the plate heat exchanger has not been as expected: periodic cleaning work are required that, in addition to being laborious, involves the replacement of all the joints of the equipment.

In order to propose a suitable technical solution to our client, the Technical Department of SACOME analyzed in detail the following restrictions:

• The space available to replace the plate heat exchanger with a tubular heat exchanger is limited, due to the total length available is 1.500 mm.
• Current process and steam water pipes must be maintained as far as possible, so that the customer has to make the minimum modifications at the factory.
• The process water must be transferred at a sufficient speed, to avoid unwanted deposition and accumulation of waste, but without excessively increasing the loss of load with respect to the existing plate heat exchanger.

Finally, we opted for our multitubular heat exchanger I-TFMP-2-I, with two passes for tubes and removable heads. Thanks to this technical solution, our client now achieves the desired operation, and has drastically reduced the cleaning and maintenance works, so that the investment made will be returned in a short period of time.