Heat exchangers sit at the core of every petrochemical facility, and represent a market segment projected to cross US$12.7 billion by 2012. Petrochemicals Middle East investigates the systems available, and how to find the model best suited to your budget.
Heat exchangers are devices specifically designed for the efficient transfer of heat from one fluid to another over a solid surface. This transfer of heat can either take the form of absorption or dissipation of heat. Heat exchangers can be found in everyday equipment from boilers, furnaces, refrigerators to air conditioning systems.
The exchangers used transfer heat from one liquid to another, without allowing them to mix. The exchange can be to alter the temperature, or state of liquids, either condensing or boiling as required.
Regardless of the function the heat exchanger fulfills, in order to transfer heat the fluids involved must be at different temperatures and they must come into thermal contact, as heat can flow only from the hot to cold, thus the heat is transferred via a metal plate isolating the two fluids.
Heat exchangers are found in most chemical, electrical or mechanical systems and they serve as the system’s means of gaining or rejecting heat. Some of the more common applications are found in heating, electronic equipment, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, radiators or internal combustion engines, boilers, condensers and gas preheaters.
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