Heat Exchangers

The principal types of heat exchanger used in the chemical process and allied industries, which will be discussed
in this chapter, are listed below:
1. Double-pipe exchanger: the simplest type, used for cooling and heating,
2. Shell and tube exchangers: used for all applications.
3. Plate and frame exchangers (plate heat exchangers): used for heating and cooling.
4. Plate-fin exchangers.
5. Spiral heat exchangers.
6. Air cooled: coolers and condensers.
7. Direct contact: cooling and quenching.
8. Agitated vessels.
9. Fired heaters.

where U0 — the overall coefficient based on the outside area of the tube, W/m2°C,
h0 = outside fluid film coefficient, W/m2°C,
hi = inside fluid film coefficient, W/m2°C,
hod = outside dirt coefficient (fouling factor), W/m2°C,
hid = inside dirt coefficient, W/m2°C,
kw = thermal conductivity of the tube wall material, W/m°C,
d-t = tube inside diameter, m,
d0= tube outside diameter, m.

The shell and tube exchanger is by far the most commonly used type of heat-transfer equipment used in the
chemical and allied industries. The advantages of this type are:
1. The configuration gives a large surface area in a small volume.
2. Good mechanical layout: a good shape for pressure operation.
3. Uses well-established fabrication techniques.
4. Can be constructed from a wide range of materials.
5. Easily cleaned.
6. Well-established design procedures.

Tube arrangements
The tubes in an exchanger are usually arranged in an equilateral triangular, square, or rotated square pattern. The
triangular and rotated square patterns give higher heat-transfer rates, but at the expense of a higher pressure drop
than the square pattern. A square, or rotated square arrangement, is used for heavily fouling fluids, where it is
necessary to mechanically clean the outside of the tubes.

12.7.1. Fluid allocation: shell or tubes

Where no phase change occurs, the following factors will determine the allocation of the fluid streams to the
shell or tubes.
Corrosion. The more corrosive fluid should be allocated to the tube-side. This will reduce the cost of expensive
alloy or clad components.
Fouling. The fluid that has the greatest tendency to foul the heat-transfer surfaces should be placed in the tubes.
This will give better control over the design fluid velocity, and the higher allowable velocity in the tubes will
reduce fouling. Also, the tubes will be easier to clean.
Fluid temperatures. If the temperatures are high enough to require the use of special alloys placing the higher
temperature fluid in the tubes will reduce the overall cost. At moderate temperatures, placing the hotter fluid in
the tubes will reduce the shell surface temperatures, and hence the need for lagging to reduce heat loss, or for
safety reasons.
Operating pressures. The higher pressure stream should be allocated to the tube-side. High-pressure tubes will
be cheaper than a high-pressure shell.
Pressure drop. For the same pressure drop, higher heat-transfer coefficients will be obtained on the tube-side
than the shell-side, and fluid with the lowest allowable pressure drop should be allocated to the tube-side.
Viscosity. Generally, a higher heat-transfer coefficient will be obtained by allocating the more viscous material
to the shell-side, providing the flow is turbulent. The critical Reynolds number for turbulent flow in the shell is
in the region of 200. If turbulent flow cannot be achieved in the shell it is better to place the fluid in the tubes, as
the tube-side heat-transfer coefficient can be predicted with more certainty.
Stream flow-rates. Allocating the fluids with the lowest flow-rate to the shell-side will normally give the most
economical design.

Shell and tube fluid velocities

High velocities will give high heat-transfer coefficients but also a high-pressure drop. The velocity must be high
enough to prevent any suspended solids settling, but not so high as to cause erosion. High velocities will reduce
fouling. Plastic inserts are sometimes used to reduce erosion at the tube inlet. Typical design velocities are given
below:
Liquids
Tube-side, process fluids: 1 to 2 m/s, maximum 4 m/s if required to reduce fouling; water: 1.5 to 2.5 m/s.
Shell-side: 0.3 to 1 m/s.
Vapours
For vapours, the velocity used will depend on the operating pressure and fluid density; the lower values in the
ranges given below will apply to high molecular weight materials.
Vacuum 50 to 70 m/s
Atmospheric pressure 10 to 30 m/s
High pressure 5 to 10 m/s

CONDENSERS
This section covers the design of shell and tube exchangers used as condensers. The construction of a condenser
will be similar to other shell and tube exchangers, but with a wider baffle spacing, typically IB = Ds.
Four condenser configurations are possible:
1. Horizontal, with condensation in the shell, and the cooling medium in the tubes.
2. Horizontal, with condensation in the tubes.
3. Vertical, with condensation in the shell.
4. Vertical, with condensation in the tubes
A horizontal exchanger with condensation in the tubes is rarely used as a process condenser, but is the usual
arrangement for heaters and vaporisers using condensing steam as the heating medium.

The normal mechanism for heat transfer in commercial condensers is film wise condensation. Dropwise
condensation will give higher heat-transfer coefficients, but is unpredictable; and is not yet considered a
practical proposition for the design of condensers for general purposes.

REBOILERS AND VAPORISERS

The design methods given in this section can be used for reboilers and vaporisers. Reboilers are used with
distillation columns to vaporise a fraction of the bottom product; whereas in a vaporiser essentially all the feed
is vaporised. Three principal types of reboiler are used:
1. Forced circulation, Figure 12.50: in which the fluid is pumped through the exchanger, and the vapour formed
is separated in the base of the column. When used as a vaporiser a disengagement vessel will have to be rovided.
2. Thermosyphon, natural circulation, Figure 12.51: vertical exchangers with vaporisation in the tubes, or
horizontal exchangers with vaporisation in the shell. The liquid circulation through the exchanger is maintained
by the difference in density between the two-phase mixture of vapour and liquid in the exchanger and the single-
phase liquid in the base of the column. As with the forced-circulation type, a disengagement vessel will be
needed if this type is used as a vaporiser.
3. Kettle type: in which boiling takes place on tubes immersed in a pool of liquid; there is no circulation of
liquid through the exchanger. This type is also, more correctly, called a submerged bundle reboiler. In some
applications it is possible to accommodate the bundle in the base of the
column; saving the cost of the exchanger shell.

Choice of type
The choice of the best type of reboiler or vaporiser for a given duty will depend on the following factors:
1. The nature of the process fluid, particularly its viscosity and propensity to fouling,
2. The operating pressure: vacuum or pressure.
3. The equipment layout, particularly the headroom available.

Forced-circulation reboilers are especially suitable for handling viscous and heavily fouling process fluids; see
Chantry and Church (1958). The circulation rate is predictable and high velocities can be used. They are also
suitable for low vacuum operations, and for low rates of vaporisation. The major disadvantage of this type is
that a pump is required and the pumping cost will be high. There is also the danger that leakage of hot fluid will
occur at the pump seal; canned-rotor type pumps can be specified to avoid the possibility of leakage.

Thermosyphon reboilers are the most economical type for most applications, but are not suitable for high
viscosity fluids or high vacuum operation. They would not normally be specified for pressures below 0.3 bar. A
disadvantage of this type is that the column base must be elevated to provide the hydrostatic head required for
the therrnosyphon effect. This will increase the cost of the column supporting-structure. Horizontal reboilers
require less headroom than vertical, but have more complex pipework. Horizontal exchangers are more easily
maintained than vertical, as tube bundle can be more easily withdrawn.

Kettle reboilers have lower heat-transfer coefficients than the other types, as there is no liquid circulation. They
are not suitable for fouling materials, and have a high residence time. They will generally be more expensive
than an equivalent therrnosyphon type as a larger shell is needed, but if the duty is such that the bundle can be
installed in the column base, the cost will be competitive with the other types. They are often used as vaporisers,
as a separate vapour-liquid disengagement vessel is not needed. They are suitable for vacuum operation, and for
high rates of vaporisation, up to 80 per cent of the feed.

PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS

Selection
The advantages and disadvantages of plate heat exchangers, compared with conventional shell and tube
exchangers are listed below:
Advantages
1. Plates are attractive when material costs are high.
2. Plate heat exchangers are easier to maintain.
3. Low approach temps can be used, as low as 1 °C, compared with 5 to 10 "C for shell and tube exchangers.
4. Plate heat exchangers are more flexible, it is easy to add extra plates.
5. Plate heat exchangers are more suitable for highly viscous materials.
6. The temperature correction factor, Ft, will normally be higher with plate heat exchangers, as the flow is closer
to true counter-current flow.
7. Fouling tends to be significantly less in plate heat exchangers.
Disadvantages
1. A plate is not a good shape to resist pressure and plate heat exchangers are not suitable for pressures greater
than about 30 bar.
2. The selection of a suitable gasket is critical.
3. The maximum operating temperature is limited to about 250 °C, due to the performance of the available
gasket materials.

Spiral heat exchangers give true counter-current flow and can be used where the temperature correction factor
F, for a shell-and-tube exchanger would be too low. Because they are easily cleaned and the turbulence in the
channels is high, spiral heat exchangers can be used for very dirty process fluids and slurries.
DIRECT CONTACT HEAT EXCHANGERS
Direct-contact heat exchangers should be considered whenever the process stream and coolant are compatible.
The equipment used is basically simple and cheap, and is suitable for use with heavily fouling fluids and with
liquids containing solids; spray chambers, spray columns, and plate and packed columns are used.

Applications include: reactor off-gas quenching, vacuum condensers, cooler-condensers, desuperheating and
humidification. Water-cooling towers are a particular example of direct-contact heat exchange. In direct-contact
cooler-condensers the condensed liquid is frequently used as the coolant.
Fluid Mechanics
Flow measurement:

The pilot tube, in which a small element of fluid is brought to rest at an orifice situated at right angles to the direction
of flow. The flowrate is then obtained from the difference between the impact and the static pressure. With this
instrument the velocity measured is that of a small filament of fluid.

The orifice meter, in which the fluid is accelerated at a sudden constriction (the orifice) and the pressure
developed is then measured. This is a relatively cheap and reliable instrument though the overall pressure
drop is high because most of the kinetic energy of the fluid at the orifice is wasted.

The venturi meter, in which the fluid is gradually accelerated to a throat and gradually retarded as the flow
channel is expanded to the pipe size. A high proportion of the kinetic energy is thus recovered but the
instrument is expensive and bulky. The nozzle, in which the fluid is gradually accelerated up to the throat
of the instrument but expansion to pipe diameter is sudden as with an orifice. This instrument is again
expensive because of the accuracy required over the inlet section.

The notch or weir, is that in which the fluid flows over the weir so that its kinetic energy is measured by
determining the head of the fluid flowing above the weir. This instrument is used in open-channel flow and
extensively in tray towers where the height of the weir is adjusted to provide the necessary liquid depth for
a given flow.

1. PITOT TUBE
The pilot tube measures the velocity of only a filament of fluid, and hence it can be used for exploring
the velocity distribution across the pipe section. If, however, it is desired to measure the total flow of
fluid through the pipe, the velocity must be measured at various distances from the walls and the results
integrated.
Averaging pitot tube or Annubar, which employ multiple sampling points over the cross-section,
provide information on the complete velocity profile which may then be integrated to give the
volumetric flowrate.

Pipes
The size of tubing is indicated by the outside diameter. The normal value is the actual outer diameter, to
within very close tolerances. Wall thickness is ordinarily given by the BWG (Birmingham wire gauge)
number, which ranges from 24 (very light) to 7 (very heavy).

Thick-walled tubular products are usually connected by screwed fittings, by flanges, or by welding. Pieces of
thin-walled tubing are joined by soldering or by compression or flare fittings. Pipe made of brittle materials like
glass or carbon or cast iron is joined by flanges or bell-and-spigot joints.

VALVES.
A typical processing plant contains thousands of valves of many different sizes and shapes. Despite the
variety in their design, however, all valves have a common primary purpose: to slow down or stop the flow
of a fluid. Some valves work best in on-or-off service, fully open or fully closed. Others are designed to
throttle, to reduce the pressure and flow rate of a fluid. Still others permit flow in one direction only or
only under certain conditions of temperature and pressure. A steam trap, which is a special form of valve,
allows water and inert gas to pass through while holding back the steam. Finally, through accessory
devices, valves can be made to control the temperature, pressure, liquid level, or other properties of a fluid
at points remote from the valve itself.

Gate valves and globe valves. The two most common types of valves, gate valves and globe valves, are
illustrated in Fig. 8.3. In a gate valve the diameter of the opening through which the fluid passes is nearly
the same as that of the pipe, and the direction of flow does not change. As a result, a wide-open gate valve
introduces only a small pressure drop. The disk is tapered and fits into a tapered seat; when the valve is
opened, the disk rises into the bonnet, completely out of the path of the fluid. Gate valves are not
recommended for controlling flow and are usually left fully open or fully closed.

Globe valves (so called because in the earliest designs the valve body was spherical) are widely used for
controlling flow. The opening increases almost linearly with stem position, and wear is evenly distributed
around the disk. The fluid passes through a restricted opening and changes direction several times . As a
result the pressure drop in this kind of valve is large.

Plug cocks and ball valves. For temperatures below 250'C, metallic plug cocks are useful in chemical
process lines. As in a laboratory stopcock, a quarter turn of the stem takes the valve from fully open to
fully closed, and when fully open, the channel through the plug may be as large as the inside of the pipe
itself, and the pressure drop is minimal. In a ball valve the sealing element is spherical, and the problems
of alignment and "freezing" of the element are less than with a plug cock. In both plug cocks and ball
valves the area of contact between moving element and seat is large, and both can therefore be used in
throttling service. Ball valves find occasional applications in flow control.

Check valves. A check valve permits flow in one direction only. It is opened by the pressure of the fluid in
the desired direction; when the flow stops or tends to reverse, the valve automatically closes by gravity or
by a spring pressing against the disk.

FLUID MOVING MACHINERY

A pump is a device for moving a liquid; a fan, a blower, or a compressor adds energy to a gas. Fans
discharge large volumes of gas (usually air) into open spaces or large ducts. They are low-speed rotary
machines and generate pressures of the order of a few inches of water. Blowers are high-speed rotary
devices (using either positive displacement or centrifugal force) that develop a maximum pressure of about
2 atm. Compressors discharge at pressures from 2 atm to thousands of atmospheres.

In pumps and fans the density of the fluid does not change appreciably, and in discussing them,
incompressible-flow theory is adequate. In blowers and compressors the density increase is too great to
justify the simplifying assumption of constant density, and compressible-flow theory is required.

If the suction pressure is only slightly greater than the vapor pressure, some liquid may flash to vapor
inside the pump, a process called cavitation, which greatly reduces the pump capacity and causes severe
erosion. If the suction pressure is actually less than the vapor pressure, there will be vaporization in the
suction line, and no liquid can be drawn into the pump. To avoid cavitation, the pressure at the pump inlet
must exceed the vapour pressure by a certain value, called the net positive suction head (NPSH). The
required value of NPSH is about 2 to 3 m (5 to 10 ft) for small centrifugal pumps, but it increases with
pump capacity, impeller speed, and discharge pressure, and values up to 15 m (50 ft) are recommended for
very large pumps.

Pump FAQs
1. What is pump? Pump, device used to raise, transfer, or compress liquids and gases. Four general
classes of pumps of pumps for liquids are described below. In all of them, steps are taken to prevent
cavitation (the formation of a vacuum), which would reduce the flow and damage the structure of
the pump. Pumps used for gases and vapors are usually known as compressors. The study of fluids in
motion is called fluid dynamics.
Water pump, device for moving water from one location to another, using tubes or other machinery.
Water pumps operate under pressures ranging from a fraction of a pound to more than 1000
pounds per square inch. Everyday examples of water pumps range from small electric pumps that
circulate and aerate water in aquariums and fountains to sump pumps that remove water from
beneath the foundations of homes.
Two types of modern pumps used to move water are the positive-displacement pump and the
centrifugal pump. Positive-displacement pumps use suction created by a vacuum to draw water into a
closed space. An example of this type of pump is the lift, or force, pump used commonly in the rural
United States until the mid-1900s. The lift pump is operated by raising a handle that is attached to a
piston encased in a pipe. Lifting the piston creates a partial vacuum beneath it in the pipe, causing
water to be drawn from a well below, through the pipe, and into a chamber in the pump. A one-way
valve closes after water is pumped into the chamber, keeping the water from flowing back down
into the well. Subsequent pumps of the piston pull more water into the chamber, which eventually
overflows, spilling water out of a spout. Centrifugal pumps use motor-driven propellers that create a
flow of water when they rotate. The blades of the propeller are immersed in the water to be
pumped. As the propeller turns, water enters the pump near the axis of the blades and is swept out
toward their ends at high pressure. An alternative, early version of the centrifugal pump, the screw
pump, consists of a corkscrew-shaped mechanism in a pipe that, when rotated, pulls water upward.
Screw pumps are often used in waste-water treatment plants because they can move large amounts
of water without becoming clogged with debris. In the ancient Middle East the need for irrigation of
farmland was a strong inducement to develop a water pump. Early pumps in this region were simple
devices for lifting buckets of water from a source to a container or a trench. Greek mathematician
and inventor Archimedes is thought to have devised the first crew pump in the 3rd century BC. Later,
Greek inventor Ctesibius developed the first lift pump. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries
AD, British engineer Thomas Savery, French physicist Denis Papin, and British blacksmith and
inventor Thomas Newcomen contributed to the development of a water pump that used steam to
power the pump’s piston. The steam-powered water pump’s first wide use was in pumping water
out of mines. Modern-day examples of centrifugal pumps are those used at the Grand Coulee Dam on
the Columbia River. This pump system has the potential to irrigate over one million acres of land.

2. What functions does a pump have?

Pumps are machines used to suck fluid and transfer and pressurize it. They are dispensable fluid
transferring machinery in petrochemical production for which they play a very important role. If
there is something wrong with a pump, it will cause the whole system to shut down. Therefore
pumps are key equipment in petrochemical production.

3. How many kinds of pumps?

They are centrifugal pumps, inline pumps, double-acting steam-driven reciprocating pumps, mixed-flow
pump, metering pump, jet pumps, and so on.

Centrifugal Pumps FAQs
1. What are centrifugal pumps?
The centrifugal pump is by far the most widely used type in the chemical and petroleum industries. It
will pump liquids with very wide ranging properties and suspensions with a high solids content
including, for example, cement slurries, and may be constructed from a very wide range of corrosion
resistant materials. The whole pump casing may be constructed from plastics such as polypropylene
or it may be fitted with a corrosion-resistant lining. Because it operates at high speed, it may be
directly coupled to an electric motor and it will give a high flowrate for its size.
In this type of pump, the fluid is fed to the centre of a rotating impeller and is thrown outward by
centrifugal action. As a result of the high speed of rotation the liquid acquires a high kinetic energy
and the pressure difference between the suction and delivery sides arises from the conversion of
kinetic energy into pressure energy.
The impeller consists of a series of curved vanes so shaped that the flow within the pump is as
smooth as possible. The greater the number of vanes on the impeller, the greater is the control over
the direction of motion of the liquid and hence the smaller are the losses due to turbulence and
circulation between the vanes. In the open impeller, the vanes are fixed to a central hub, whereas in
the closed type the vanes are held between two supporting plates and leakage across the impeller is
reduced. As will be seen later, the angle of the tips of the blades very largely determines the
operating characteristics of the pump.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of centrifugal pumps?
   The main advantages are:
1)It is simple in construction and can, therefore, be made in a wide range of materials.
2)There is a complete absence of valves.
3)It operates at high speed (up to 100 Hz) and, therefore, can be coupled directly to an electric
motor. In general, the higher the speed the smaller the pump and motor for a given duty.
4)It gives a steady delivery.
5)Maintenance costs are lower than for any other type of pump.
6)No damage is done to the pump if the delivery line becomes blocked, provided it is not run in this
condition for a prolonged period.
7)It is much smaller than other pumps of equal capacity. It can, therefore, be made into a sealed unit
with the driving motor and immersed in the suction tank.
8)Liquids containing high proportions of suspended solids are readily handled.
The main disadvantages are:
1)The single-stage pump will not develop a high pressure. Multistage pumps will develop greater
heads but they are very much more expensive and cannot readily be made in corrosion-resistant
material because of their greater complexity. It is generally better to use very high speeds in order to
reduce the number of stages required.
2)It operates at a high efficiency over only a limited range of conditions: this applies especially to
turbine pumps.
3) It is not usually self-priming.
4)If a non-return valve is not incorporated in the delivery or suction line, the liquid will run back into
the suction tank as soon as the pump stops.
5)Very viscous liquids cannot be handled efficiently.

Diaphragm pumps are common industrial pumps that use positive displacement to move liquids.
Typically, these chemical pumps include a single diaphragm and chamber, as well as suction and
discharge check valves to prevent backflow. Pistons are either coupled to the diaphragm, or used to
force hydraulic oil to drive the diaphragm. Double diaphragm pumps are often part of fluid transfer
systems where operators use switches or valves to control media flow continuously or on demand.
With double diaphragm pumps, two diaphragms are mechanically, hydraulically, or pneumatically
oscillated to displace liquid. One chamber contains the actuator or power source, and the other
contains the fluid media. Chemical pumps vary according to maximum discharge pressure, inlet size,
discharge size, and media temperature. Gear pumps can transport high volume and pressure flows
while dosing pumps can move low volumes of liquids at controllable discharge rates.