PHE (Plate Heat Exchanger) for Condensing Duties: Recent Advances and Future Prospects

Increasing energy usage efficiency requires enhanced heat energy recuperation between process streams in the industry and civic sector with waste heat utilization. The condensation of different vapours is the process encountered in many industrial applications. Increasing the heat recuperation in this process is possible with efficient heat transfer equipment, among which a Plate Heat Exchanger (PHE) is at the leading position. A number of research works have been conducted in recent years concerning construction development and heat transfer enhancement in conditions of limited pressure drop to increase PHE performance in condensation processes. The results of studies on heat transfer and pressure drop in the two-phase condensing flow inside channels of PHE with different geometries of corrugations are discussed. In many implementations, the total pressure drop allowable for gaseous streams in heat exchangers is relatively small. The structure of two-phase flow in PHE channels of complex geometry is very different than in tubes and flat wall channels. The relative differences in approaches to enhance PHE performance in condensation processes based on its modelling, optimisation and design are analyzed. The directions and prospects for future developments are formulated, and potential savings for the economy and the environmental footprint is presented.