Improving refinery and process plant operations

摘要

A PLATE HEAT exchanger (PHE) is an important piece of equipment commonly used in refineries and plants. It was invented by Dr Richard Seligman in 1923 and soon revolutionised methods of indirect heating and cooling of fluids without the usage of electricity. Also called plate and frame heat exchanger, it functions by simply transferring heat from one fluid to another through the use of metal plates. Comparing it with other conventional heat exchangers such as shell and tube heat exchanger or spiral heat exchanger, the PHE is favoured mainly because the fluids work on larger surface areas and are capable of dispersing on the metal plates, thus greatly increases the speed of the temperature change. It has a compact size and could easily fit in narrow spaces in a plant.