Condensate water is typically generated as a by-product during the use of steam as a medium for heat transfer. In order to optimize the transfer area, the chemical industry often employs heat exchangers, such as the plate heat exchanger (PHE), which provides flexibility in adjusting the space area for heat transfer. This case study examines the optimization of plate geometry dimensions to enhance the heat transfer process of PHE equipment design. The optimization process involves mathematical equations and a literature review of the design of this type of heat exchanger. Improving the dimensional aspect of the plate geometry results in an increase in the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) and a reduction in the number of design requirements used. The study's estimation results suggest that the PHE design has a limitation on plate dimensions, which should be less than 0.3×0.6 m. Additionally, it is important to consider the pressure drop value, which should not exceed 29.07 kPa. A review of the chemical industry field provided estimated options for plate size and quantity, both of which support the optimization of heat transfer rate and design constraint thresholds. The implementation of the design has been found to enhance the performance of the planning process for recovering steam condensate water.

Heat exchangers transfer heat from a high temperature to a low temperature in a fluid. Air-cooled heat exchangers are one of the most widely used types of heat exchangers, after shell and tube heat exchangers. Its performance is determined by calculating the fouling factor value and the pressure drop. The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the performance of a water-cooled heat exchanger in a plant that produces a thickening agent (CMC, or carboxymethylcellulose), which affects the amount of ethanol produced. Ethanol will cool from 79.347 to 54.133 oC, and air will cool from 31.333 to 59.667 oC as the cold fluid. The calculation results show that both reviews exceed the design threshold of 0.007056 h.ft2.oF/Btu. These heat exchangers require maintenance and repair. These results differ from the pressure drop values on the air side and pipe section, which are 1.2.10-3 inH2O and 0.647 psia, respectively. Both values remain outside the allowable limits. The performance evaluation of process equipment in the separation unit was aided by field data. The review of the data was able to predict a plant shut-down. This action was able to effect a partial or total plant shut-down due to fouling and scale exceeding design data thresholds.

One of the factories for manufacturing Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) uses a shell and tube-type heat exchanger as a condenser. The shell and tube (HE) heat exchanger consists of small diameter tubes arranged in a cylindrical shell. In the tube and shell sections, hot (ethanol) and cold (water) fluids will flow so that heat transfer occurs directly. The use of heat exchangers regularly will reduce the performance of the tool. Due to the increasing fouling layer inside the HE, the device will work harder, and the heat process could be more optimal. It is necessary to analyze the performance of the heat exchanger using the parameter value of the fouling factor (Rd). The fouling factor can be calculated using the manual calculation method (via the Kern method) and the HTRI program. The involvement of the mathematical equation in the first method will be configured for the calculation results through process simulation in the HTRI software. Both ways are used for calibration between manual calculations and the HTRI software for the Rd values obtained. The fouling factor can be calculated using the manual method and HTRI software. The two methods used for calibration are manual calculations with HTRI software. The results from this analysis give a decrease in tool performance with a fouling factor of 0,01 Btu/(h.ft2.℉). ABSTRAKSalah satu pabrik pembuatan Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) menggunakan heat exchanger tipe shell and tube sebagai kondensor. Heat exchanger (HE) shell and tube terdiri dari sekumpulan tube berdiameter kecil yang disusun di dalam shell berbentuk silindris. Pada bagian tube dan shell akan dialirkan fluida panas (etanol) dan dingin (air) agar terjadi proses perpindahan panas secara tidak langsung. Penggunaan heat exchanger secara berkala akan mengurangi kinerja alat. Hal tersebut disebabkan oleh adanya lapisan fouling yang terus meningkat di bagian dalam HE sehingga alat akan bekerja lebih berat dan proses perpindahan panas tidak maksimal. Untuk mengatasi fenomena tersebut maka perlu dilakukan analisis kinerja heat exchanger menggunakan parameter nilai fouling factor (Rd). Fouling factor dapat dihitung menggunakan metode perhitungan manual (melalui metode Kern) dan penggunaan program HTRI. Keterlibatan persamaan matematis pada metode pertama akan dikonfigurasi hasil perhitungannya melalui simulasi proses pada software HTRI Kedua metode digunakan untuk kalibrasi antara perhitungan manual dengan software HTRI atas nilai Rd yang didapatkan. Hasil analisis perhitungan dengan kedua metode tersebut menghasilkan penurunan kinerja alat dengan nilai fouling factor sebesar 0,011 Btu/(jam.ft2.℉).