PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

Abstract

A plate heat exchanger with two heat exchange plates forming a channel system between the heat exchange plates, the channel system being sealed by a sealing member. The channel system includes a support member, the support member is arranged at a distance from the sealing member and a support member material is different from a material of a heat exchange plate.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A sealed plate heat exchanger, comprising: two heat-exchanging plates, which form a channel system arranged between the heat-exchanging plates that is sealed by a sealing element, wherein the channel system includes a supporting element spaced apart from the sealing element wherein a supporting element material differs from a material of a heat-exchanging plate.

17. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the supporting element is a supporting connection between the heat-exchanging plates.

18. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the sealing element comprises a circumferential sealing element region, is a self-contained circumferential tape or forms a tape contour, which is closed on all sides, by means of overlapping tape regions.

19. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the sealing element and/or the supporting element comprises a fluoropolymer.

20. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 19, wherein the fluoropolymer is selected from polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ETCFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer (FEP) and perfluoroalkoxy polymers (PFA).

21. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the supporting element is no more than 10% of the width of the supporting element.

22. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the sealing element is no more than 10% of the width of the sealing element.

23. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the supporting element and/or of the sealing element is between 0.01 and 0.5 mm.

24. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the width of the supporting element and/or of the sealing element is at least 3 mm.

25. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein the heat-exchanging plates comprise graphite and/or ceramic material and/or metal.

26. The plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, comprising three heat-exchanging plates, which form a first channel system arranged between the first heat-exchanging plate and the second heat-exchanging plate and a second channel system arranged between the second heat-exchanging plate and the third heat-exchanging plate, wherein the first channel system is sealed by a first sealing element and a first supporting element included in the first channel system is aligned with a second supporting element included in the second channel system.

27. A use of the plate heat exchanger according to claim 16 for transferring heat from one medium to another medium, wherein one medium is corrosive or both media are corrosive.

28. A use of the plate heat exchanger according to claim 27, wherein the corrosive media are selected from hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid or chloroacetic acid.

29. A use of the plate heat exchanger according to claim 16 for transferring heat, wherein the pressure difference between one medium and the environment or the pressure difference between two media between which heat is transferred is at least 7 bar.

30. A method in which heat is transferred from one medium to another medium in a plate heat exchanger according to claim 16, wherein at least one of the two media is brought into physical contact with a foodstuff, a pharmaceutical product or a semiconductor material or is brought into contact with a precursor of the foodstuff, the pharmaceutical product or the semiconductor material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0035] The invention will be illustrated by the following embodiments and drawings, without being limited thereto.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a region of a heat-exchanging plate

[0037] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a region of a heat-exchanging plate in which portions of a precursor material for supporting elements according to the invention have been applied

[0038] FIG. 3 is a cross section of a heat-exchanging plate in which precursor materials for sealing elements and for supporting elements according to the invention have been applied

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a region of a typical heat-exchanging plate 1 for a plate heat exchanger. The heat-exchanging plate is profiled on the surface that is visible here such that, within the stack with another heat-exchanging plate (not shown here) arranged on said heat-exchanging plate, a channel system 2 is produced into which a medium can be introduced via a through-opening 3. The channels 5 included in the channel system are delimited by ridges 4. FIG. 2 shows the same perspective view of the same heat-exchanging plate 1, wherein portions of a supporting element precursor material 6 are additionally arranged on the ridges 4.

[0040] A supporting element precursor material 6 is also shown in the section shown in FIG. 3. The heat-exchanging plate from FIG. 3 is similar to the heat-exchanging plates from FIGS. 1 and 2, but here the ridges 4 have a trapezoidal cross section. FIG. 3 also shows a sealing element precursor material 7, which extends on the outer edge of the surface on all sides. By stacking and placing a plurality of the heat-exchanging plates shown in FIG. 3 under strain, the supporting element precursor 6 and sealing element precursor 7 arranged between the plates is compressed such that a heat exchanger according to the invention is provided, comprising sealing elements and supporting elements arranged according to the invention.

EMBODIMENTS

[0041] Two small test plate heat exchangers (SiC PHX P05) each having 10 silicon carbide heat-exchanging plates were built. The dimensions of the plates for the P05 type were 230×620 mm. The heat-exchanging plates each comprise profiling that has been incorporated and openings for the media. The two test plate heat exchangers only differ by additional supporting elements according to the invention that have been only included in the second test plate heat exchanger.

[0042] For the two test plate heat exchangers, a sealing cord (PTFE-based, approx. 4 mm thick) was applied around each of the channel systems arranged between adjacent heat-exchanging plates and around the through-opening through which the other medium flows. The sealing cord was used to limit the regions through which the two media flow with respect to one another and to limit these regions with respect to the surrounding atmosphere.

[0043] In the second test plate heat exchanger, additional fluoropolymer supporting elements were applied to the ridges between the cooling channels. After placing the heat exchanger under strain, one of the two media flowed around the fluoropolymer supporting elements, and therefore they did not assume a sealing function.

[0044] In the first test plate heat exchanger, a test pressure of 8 bar was achieved. In the second test plate heat exchanger, a test pressure of 12 bar was achieved. First leakages only occurred in the second test plate heat exchanger at 13 bar test pressure.

[0045] The test pressure could therefore already be increased by 50% in this first, greatly simplified test setup.

[0046] In the event of loading, pressure is applied to the plate surface by contact with the media, which leads to deflection or to a corresponding state of mechanical stress. By means of the supporting elements, potential deflection is reduced or the corresponding stress is reduced. This allows for greater compressive loading in comparison with the initial state until a potential critical state of stress is reached with respect to the load on the plate (avoiding plate breakage) or with respect to the load on the system (avoiding leakages).

[0047] In other tests, plate heat exchangers according to the invention were able to achieve a resistance to pressure of 23.0 bar with silicon carbide heat-exchanging plates and a resistance to pressure of 25 to 26 bar with graphite heat-exchanging plates. This implies that the invention is not limited to plate heat exchangers comprising ceramic heat-exchanging plates, but can likewise be implemented especially effectively with other corrosion-proof plate materials.

[0048] By means of the 23 to 26 bar achieved, the leakages appeared in the same region both with silicon carbide heat-exchanging plates and with graphite heat-exchanging plates. The invention seems to have shifted the resistance to pressure limits more towards the clamping plates being made of steel (flatness) and the test equipment. If anything, leakages occur in the region of the supply and discharge lines or hose couplings.