Investigation of CaCO3 fouling in plate heat exchangers

Abstract

An experimental investigation, coupled with theoretical modeling of CaCO3 fouling in plate-and-frame type heat exchangers (PHEs) have been conducted. Four different plates, made of SS-304, are used in two different surface patterns (chevron and zig-zag) of varying corrugation severity (waviness depth and pitch) and area enhancement. They were further characterized in clean, non-fouled convection by their measured heat transfer coefficients and friction factors in the Reynolds number range of 600–6000. The flow-fouling experiments delineate the effects of temperature and plate-surface geometry on growth rates and stabilization of fouling resistance, along with the anti-fouling behavior of plates coated with a hydrophobic PTFE (Teflon) film. Moreover, the microscopic structure of fouling deposits is mapped in a scanning-electron microscope. Corrugated plates with the largest height-to-pitch ratio and hydraulic diameter are found to have the lowest fouling growth rate and resistance; Teflon-film coating of plate surface is also found to mitigate fouling relative to the performance of bare stainless steel plates. Finally, a semi-empirical fouling model, based on the Prandtl–Taylor analogy, has been devised to describe the experimental data and provide a predictive tool.