Plate heat exchangers for Oil & gas

Fully welded plate heat exchangers are the norm here: hydrocarbons attack elastomer gaskets, make them swell and considerably shorten their service life. Without a gasket this wear part disappears, and the permissible pressures and temperatures depend solely on plate material, weld seam and frame.

Typical designs run at operating pressures up to 35 bar and temperatures from -50 to 300 degrees Celsius. What matters is not the steady operating point alone but the real pressure profile: surges from fast-switching valves or cycling compressors load weld seams more than a constantly high pressure and belong in the sizing.

Typical duties are heat recovery from process streams, cooling of compressors and hydraulic circuits, conditioning of condensates and intermediate circuits separating process and cooling media. Compared with shell-and-tube units, the plate design saves considerable space at the same duty.

Through a fouling margin on the overall heat transfer coefficient and a sufficiently high channel velocity. Because the welded pack cannot be opened, cleaning is chemical and in place (CIP) - the design has to provide the necessary access and connections from the outset.