Can plate heat exchangers be used for the cooling and heat exchange of compressed air?

When it comes to the cooling and heating of compressed air, we generally use plate-fin heat exchangers.

Plate exchangers for gas heat exchange are quite rare.

Plate heat exchangers require clean heat exchange media, as the gaps between the plates are small and prone to blockage; compressed air usually contains oil and water, making it unsuitable for use in plate heat exchangers.

Commonly used tube, bellows, and plate-fin heat exchangers

For gas heat exchange, since the heat transfer coefficient of gases is low, finned tubes are generally used to enhance convective heat transfer. The most classic heat exchange device for air cooling is the air cooler; plate exchangers are not recommended.

Generally, gas coolers at the rear of compressors use cooling water for heat exchange, while heaters mostly employ steam as the heat source. This operating condition involves heat exchange between a gas and a liquid, with an imbalance in heat exchange between the two media (that is, there is a large difference in the heat transfer coefficients between the compressed gas and the cooling water or condensed water vapor). Therefore, it is reasonable to choose enhanced heat transfer elements. For example, the type of heat exchanger mentioned on floors 5 and 6. It should also be added that, generally, strict requirements are placed on the pressure drop on the gas side of the heat exchanger located downstream of the compressor. The structure of plate heat exchangers itself means that, under the same unit mass flow rate, the pressure drop is much higher compared to other types of heat exchangers; therefore, plate heat exchangers are not suitable for this purpose. The factors mentioned on the 4th floor are also crucial. As for the plate-fin type mentioned on the 2nd and 5th floors, I’m not sure if it has been used before. The principle behind its enhanced heat transfer lies in increasing the heat exchange area per unit volume, based on the plate heat exchanger concept; as a result, at a given mass flow rate, the pressure drop on the gas side remains high. Although the equipment is relatively small, this is achieved at the cost of increased pressure drop, which is why it isn’t widely used. Additionally, cost is also a factor to consider (in most cases, plate-fin heat exchangers are preferred in cold boxes used in the separation industry). For other forms of enhanced heat transfer elements, it depends on their heat transfer performance under unit energy loss conditions in that specific operating scenario. Here is one recommendation; the forum post address is: http://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-163192-1-1.html