Plate Heat Exchanger Working Principle

Versatile Roles in the Chemical Industry

The chemical industry places extremely high demands on the corrosion resistance and high-pressure tolerance of plate heat exchangers. In the soda ash industry, titanium plate heat exchangers are used for mother liquor heating, withstanding highly corrosive environments with Cl⁻ concentrations up to 120 g/L. In the ammonia synthesis process, welded equipment completes syngas cooling under high pressures of 20 MPa. For high-viscosity fluids (such as resin polymerization), plates with special corrugated designs enhance heat transfer and shorten reaction times. Additionally, in alcohol fermentation, plate heat exchangers ensure yeast activity through precise temperature control (±0.5°C), achieving 40% energy savings compared to traditional jacketed heat exchangers. Recently developed graphite plate heat exchangers offer superior acid and alkali resistance and have been applied in dilution processes.

Thermal Management Solutions in the Metallurgical Industry

Metallurgical production involves large volumes of high-temperature media, where plate heat exchangers excel in quenching fluid cooling and steel rolling processes. For example, the aluminum processing industry uses nickel-based alloy plate equipment to handle caustic soda solutions at 80°C, preventing intergranular corrosion. In continuous casting machine mold water cooling systems, plate heat exchangers can withstand high-temperature water up to 150°C, ensuring stable cooling rates. For waste heat recovery from steelmaking flue gas, a plate-and-shell structure (combining plates and a shell) balances high-temperature resistance and vibration resistance. A case study in a steel plant showed that replacing shell-and-tube heat exchangers reduced energy consumption per ton of steel by 8.6%, saving over 3 million yuan annually in gas costs.