Problems and Costs due to Heat Exchanger Fouling in New Zealand Industries

Data are reported on the perception of fouling in New Zealand based on 200 companies and the application of nearly 2000 heat exchangers. These data are discussed with respect to their occurrence for various heat exchanger applications, industries, and heat exchanger types. The fouling mitigation strategies applied in New Zealand are depicted and compared with the state of the art in fouling mitigation as found from an extensive literature search. Some comments are made as to the heat exchanger cleaning frequencies in New\Zealand industries. Finally, an attempt is made to provide a reasonably reliable estimate of the annual fouling-related costs in New Zealand. These results are then compared with those previously reported from the United States and England.