Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers

Using a Gasketed Heat Exchanger in the Beer Making Process

Beer is made by steeping malted barley in hot water to break down the barley into sugars. After approximately an hour, the liquid turns into wort. Next it is boiled in a kettle for approximately an hour or more (depending on the desired taste you’re aiming for). At this point a gasketed heat exchanger adds significant value in the brewing process.

Once the liquid has been made into wort the gasketed heat exchanger will cool it down down as quickly as possible. Why? Because lowering the temperature of wort expeditiously is crucial in the process of brewing beer. The bigger the volume the brewery makes, the more difficult this process becomes. None of the traditional options are as efficient as a gasketed heat exchanger.

The gasketed heat exchanger is a popular option in breweries. A hot liquid flows along one side of the plate and a cold liquid along the other side of the plate which produces a heat exchange.

In a brewery, hot wort is run through a gasketed heat exchanger and cooled by another liquid along the other side of the plate in the opposite direction. The right sized gasketed heat exchanger will correct the temperature within an hour.  Fermentation starts once the wort has cooled down.

The cold water then gets heated and returned to a hot water tank to be used for the next brew or for some other purpose in the brewery. The heat used to bring the wort to a boil can be reused to heat cold water entering the building. If a plate heat exchanger uses refrigerants, it can also be used after fermentation to lower the beer’s temperature and allow the aging process to take place.

Using a Gasketed Heat Exchanger in the Pulp & Paper Process

During the process of creating pulp from wood, then bleaching the pulp and cleaning it, a heat exchanger is needed. Gasketed heat plate exchagers are used to heat the liquids that are used in the process of creating pulp from wood. Chemical compounds pull apart the wood structure, leaving a goop-like substance that can be formed into paper after more processing. Secondary processes involve bleaching or dying the pulp and heat exchangers are also used in this process. Once the desired color is achieved, the pulp is converted into paper wit a paper making machine., which combines the pulp into thin webs that form sheets. During which all the moisture is removed and some style of blower is utilized to dry it out completely.

One part of the paper machine also uses a type of heat exchanger known as a waste heat recovery system, which is one of the ways that heat exchangers are able to save companies energy, resources and money. A waste heat recovery machine is able to absorb the heat and moisture in a room to be reused without putting a greater strain on the energy source that usually provides air and water for the paper making process. In essence it is a recycling system that has no down side.
With effluents, paper mills must comply with legislation that requires their waste water to be treated in a purification plant before being discharged into the natural environment at a temperature below 30°C. The company can save money by recovering heat from the effluents before discharge (even below 30°C).

Using a Gasketed Heat Exchanger in Alumina & Aluminum Manufacturing

The Bayer process is used to produce alumina. The alumina is dissolved at 950 °C (1,750 °F) in a molten electrolyte composed of aluminum, sodium, and fluorine; this is electrolyzed to give aluminum metal at the cathode and oxygen gas at the anode and this is called the Hall-Héroult smelting process.

In the production process of alumina & aluminum, the digestion, evaporation, liquor heating and other energy-intensive extraction processes can be harnessed for expansive quantities of heat.

This heat that can be fed right back into the flow, with an unparalleled yield. Gasketed heat exchangers are the most efficient technology for heat transfer. Their close temperature approach, high internalturbulence and large heat-transfer areas combine to squeeze up to 30% moreenergy out of every heat flow than conventional shell-and-tube units. By replacing those costly and bulky units with gasketed heat exchangers, aluminum processing plants around the world are discovering (and saving) many megawatts of hidden energy each year.

Using a Gasketed Heat Exchanger in the Distillery Industry

Distilleries should replace the shell-and-tube evaporation system with a gasketed heat exchanger. The shell-and-tube system often suffers from a serious loss of efficiency due to fouling and scaling. By utilizing an evaporation system the energy required for evaporation is recovered from the distillation process. The gasketed heat exchanger is used to condense the vapour. Its cooling water channels induce high turbulence while the vapour channels feature a wide gap with extremely low pressure drop. This keeps viscosity low and the risk of fouling to a minimum.

This will extend cleaning intervals and enhance the efficiency of the CIP (cleaning in place) system. The true countercurrent flow of a gasketed heat exchanger ensures optimal heat transfer efficiency in the processes. You will be able to open up the unit very easily and quickly clear any accumulated waste. Don’t over-concentrated the wash.  Simply adjust the concentration to the correct level. With regular CIP, there will be no repetition. A complete system based on plate heat exchangers with integrated CIP  is a highly efficient option. Consider evaporators,  a gasketed heat exchanger and a condenser in a distillery.

Using a Gasketed Heat Exchanger in the Fine Chemicals Industry

In the synthesis of a molecule, gasketed heat exchangers are used for heating, cooling, condensation, evaporation, and drying operations. Fine chemistry produces complex molecules for many industrial fields such as paints, pigments, flavors, silicones, pesticides, fuel additives, lubricants, materials plastics, perfumes, textile, water treatment, surface treatment, surfactants, etc. In pharmaceutical chemistry, these molecules are the active ingredients in medicine and a reliable, compact and well designed gasketed heat exchanger makes all the difference.

This high added value, specialized chemistry, is characterized by synthesis processes in which security, energy and water management play a big role. Heat exchange phases are numerous and critical in order to increase productivity and reduce production costs. 

Particular requirements and technical specifications for each process impose suitable heat exchanger dimensioning and design.
Vtherm SA understands the specific needs of each process. We are able to design various construction types, and distinct materials grades, according to the codes (CODAP, ASME, AD MERKBLATT, etc.)