Platular heat exchangers are said to combine the advantages of tubular and plate-gasket units, giving two to four times the heat-transfer capabilities in units that are one-fourth to one-tenth their sizes.
The heat exchangers, from Barriquand Technologies Thermiques, are an alternative to conventional designs: a single exchanger can have as much as 1500m2 of heat transfer area, with an area-volume ratio of 200m2/m3.
The units are custom-made, using up-to-date welding techniques, from alloys such as stainless and duplex steel, and Hastelloy, to withstand operating temperatures up to 700°C and pressures to 40bars.
For smaller volume and pressure operation (below 20bars), standard models with heat-transfer areas between 0.9 and 71.6m2 are available.
The flexibility boasted for the design is arrived at in several way.
The wide choice of heat transfer channels optimises the thermal, hydraulic and dimensional characteristics of the units.
Flow can be counter-current, co-current, cross-flow, multipass or any combination of these types.
Frames can be all-welded or built with access to allow mechanical cleaning.
In addition, Platular units can cope with complex heat transfer conditions and are available for multi-fluid, multi-phase systems.
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Barriquand Technologies Thermiques, Soumagne, Belgium. www.barriquand.com
