Seeking help: What type of heat exchanger should be chosen?
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Please help me determine which type of heat exchanger should be chosen under the following conditions: Design specifications, tube side, shell side, inlet temperature (°C): 120, 33; outlet temperature (°C): 95, 43. Design pressure (MP): 0.3, 0.7. Operating medium: 95% acetic acid + water; circulating cooling water. Last edited by Love in the Rain on 2009-3-23 at 12:52
We have used 316Cu in Jihua’s acetic acid project for 8 years now, and the results have been good!
You can choose a heat exchanger with copper or aluminum tubes. To achieve a large heat exchange area with minimal space requirement, finned plate type is the best choice.
Using a U-tube heat exchanger should result in the lowest initial cost. 316L is sufficient for the pipe schedule.
A conventional shell-and-tube heat exchanger is used, with 00Cr17Ni14Mo2 as the material for the tube side and carbon steel for the shell side. Easy to manufacture and most cost-effective.
It’s not because our factory produces plate coolers that I recommend using plate heat exchangers. 1\ Compared to tubular or other types of heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers have a smaller surface area; the equipment is easier to install, and the inlet and outlet flanges are located on the same plane. 2\ They require less space. 3\ They are easy to maintain. The area can be increased as needed to boost production capacity. 4\ This is a trend – more and more applications will be replaced by plate heat exchangers!
Material is 316; temperature and pressure are not high, as long as the heat exchange area is sufficient – the form isn’t important
If it’s a new project, there is usually a large circulating water system, in which case shell-and-tube heat exchangers could be considered. For retrofit projects, the volume of the circulating water system might not be sufficient; in such cases, air coolers could be an option. Although the initial investment is slightly higher, the operating costs are low, and temperature control is also possible :)
It is better for the circulating cooling water to flow in the tube side, as scaling can be easily removed.
Since both pressure and temperature are not high, it’s better to use a shell-and-tube type.