Commonly Used Heat Exchangers

A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment that continually transfers heat from one
medium to another in order to carry process energy. Food grade applications use indirect
heat exchangers, those where both media are separated by a wall through which heat is
transferred.
The natural laws of physics always allow the driving energy in a system to flow until
equilibrium is reached. As long as there is a temperature difference, heat leaves the
hottest fluid and will be transferred to the colder fluid.
A heat exchanger used this principle in its endeavour to reach it's desired result.
The theory of heat transfer from one media to another, or from one fluid to another, is
determined by several basic rules.

1. Heat will always be transferred from a hot product to a cold product.

2. There must always be a temperature difference between the products.
3. The heat lost by the hot product is equal to the amount of heat gained by the cold
product, except for energy losses to the surrounding area.

Shell and tube heat exchanger

Shell and tube heat exchangers consist of a bundle of parallel sanitary tubes with the ends
expanded in tube sheets. The bundle is contained in a cylindrical shell. Connections are
such that the tubes can contain either the product or the media, depending upon the
application. The major limitation is that they cannot be used to regenerate, but they can
transfer lots of heat due to the surface area.

Tube in Tube Heat Exchanger

The tube in tube heat exchanger, often called a double tube heat exchanger is an all
welded heat exchanger. The process fluid passes through the inner tube, while the
heating or cooling media goes through the outer tube. Because of the large size of the
product tube, these heat exchangers have the ability to process very large particulates.
They can handle high pulp products, create low product shear, have a low initial cost,
can handle high pressure, and can CIP at the same flow rate as the process piping.
Triple Tube Heat Exchanger

Triple tube heat exchangers are designed with three concentrically mounted tubes. For
heat transfer applications, the heating or cooling medium flows through the space
between the inside and outside tubes while product travels in the opposite direction
through the middle tube.
For sanitary regeneration applications, your heated product flows in one direction
through the space in the inside and outside tubes while your cooled product travels in the
opposite direction through the middle tube. Compared to traditional indirect regenerators
the triple tube requires about one half of the surface area which in turn requires less heat
exchangers, less floor space, and faster cooling of the product on the hot side of the
system, decreasing heat damage due to shorter times in residence.
Plate heat exchangers have been using direct regeneration for many years for milk
pasteurization. Regeneration is an efficient, safe and proven method for processing. A
valuable option is using a triple tube system for direct regeneration. A triple tube heat
exchanger provides a good amount of surface area as heat transfer takes place on all
three tubes.
Advantages of triple tube heat exchangers is that they have the ability to process viscous
and high pulp products, and that they are manufactured to sanitary standards on both the
product and media side so they can be used as a direct regenerator.
Plate Heat Exchanger

Plate Heat Exchangers consist of a number of very thin corrugated stainless steel heat
transfer plates clamped together in a frame. Every second channel is open to the same
fluid. Between each pair of plates there is a rubber gasket, which prevents the fluids from
mixing and from leaking to the surroundings. Heat is thus transferred from the warm
fluid to the colder fluid via the thin stainless steel plate. The corrugations support the
plates against differential pressure and create a turbulent flow in the channels. In turn, the
turbulent flow provides high heat transfer efficiency, making the plate heat exchanger
very compact compared with the traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger. In most cases
the plate type heat exchanger is the most efficient heat exchanger. Generally it offers the
best solution to heating and cooling applications since it can better handle the widest
pressure and temperature limits.
Advantages of a plate heat exchanger are that they utilize the thinnest material for the
heat transfer surface that in turn gives optimum heat transfer, since the heat only has to
penetrate thin material. Also, there is a high turbulence in the medium that in turn gives
a higher convection, which results in efficient heat transfer between the media. The
consequence of this higher heat transfer coefficient per unit area is not only a smaller
surface area requirement but also a more efficient process. The high turbulence also
gives a self-cleaning effect. Therefore, when compared to the traditional shell and tube
heat exchanger, the fouling of the heat transfer surfaces is considerably reduced. This
means that the plate heat exchanger can remain in service far longer between cleaning
intervals. Since the plate heat exchanger consists of a framework of plates, more plates
can easily be added to increase capacity, and the plates can easily be spread apart for
cleaning.
Disadvantages of plate heat exchangers are their initial expense, they don't work well
under high pressure rates and they are not well suited for processing pulpy products or
product with particulates. The corrugated plate causes contact points that are required for
rigidity, and "pinch" points are created which allow for retention of the pulp and
particulates. This effectively creates an undesirable filter. This limits your ability to
process more than one type of product on a single system, such as orange juice with pulp
and a clear fruit drink that must contain no pulp. Trying to keep the plate heat exchanger
clean before running a new product can prove very difficult, if not impossible.
Agitated Jacketed Tanks
A jacketed tank is a tank with an outer
jacket designed to contain heating or
cooling media. Product is heated or cooled
while being mixed, blended or agitated. A
dimple jacketed tank utilizes a simple heat
transfer element. First, the heating element
is created by pressing a dimpled profile into
a flat sheet of stainless steel. This dimpled
sheet, referred to as an embossing, is then
spot welded to the non contact side of a
stainless steel tank to create a flow passage
for the heating or cooling media. The end
result is a fully welded heat transfer element
that is extremely thin (approximately ½"
overall thickness). The coils can remain
exposed, or they can be covered with an
insulation material and then covered with a
sheet of stainless steel. Jacketed tanks are
not thermally efficient and they cannot be
used in a continuous operation.
Maintenance and Inspection of Common Heat Exchangers
Shell
Plate Heat Tube in Triple Scraped
Processor/Kettle and
Exchanger Tube Tube Surface
Tube
Inspection for Fouling
Product
great great great great great great
Side
Media
n/a great average great n/a n/a
Side
Inspection for Leakage
Product
great great average great average great
Side
Media
great great great great great n/a
Side
Inspection for Corrosion
Product
great great average good great great
Side
Media
poor great poor average n/a n/a
Side
Chemical Cleaning
Product
great great great great great great
Side
Media
n/a great great great great n/a
Side
Manual Cleaning
Product
great great average poor great great
Side
Media
n/a great poor poor n/a n/a
Side

Repair poor great poor average good great

Reasons for Selection

Processor or Kettle:
The cheapest option and the option that requires the least floor space. This utilizes a
jacketed tank for heating/cooling for a full range of products. Agitation can be from
minimal to surface scraped. This option is used on a batch production basis.
Plate Heat Exchanger (liquid/liquid):

The most efficient option and normally the cheapest option. Normally can only handle
liquids with less than 7% of pulp and viscosities less than 20,000 cPs.

Tube in Tube Heat Exchanger (liquid/liquid; liquid/steam):

An inexpensive option that can handle liquids with high solids (30 to 40%) with
maximum size range of particulates at 0.125 to .5” in diameter if pressure conditions
allow and high viscosities.

Triple tube (liquid/liquid; liquid/steam):

Can utilize regeneration and can handle liquids with low solids (5 to 10%) in
suspension.

Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger (liquid/liquid; liquid/steam):

Restricted to solutions with low solids contents and viscosities under 10,000 cPs.

Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger (liquid/liquid; liquid/steam ):

For high viscosity (up to 100,000 cPs) solids whose contents are greater than 75% of
normal and particulates up to 1” maximum. For complex or sensitive products that
require gentile processing.