Process Optimization
4. Establish a preventive maintenance schedule Maintenance for heat exchangers requires parts that may not be on the shelf when needed. Hence, if you run your heat exchanger to failure, you might have to scramble to find the parts you require( especially if you depend on a small, local vendor). You also have to deal with the repercussions of a broken heat exchanger. Will you try to get by without it, or will you have to shut down? That’ s not a choice you want to make. Preventive maintenance is about servicing your heat exchanger before it fails, not after. The superior form of preventive maintenance for heat exchangers in the Oil & Gas industry is performance-based maintenance( PbM). PbM is the practice of setting up a maintenance schedule around predefined parameters adhering to the performance of your heat exchanger. Continuously monitor your exchanger’ s performance. If heat transfer levels fall outside your preset parameters, that’ s when you conduct your maintenance. Establishing a preventive maintenance schedule should be standard for any company relying on its heat exchangers, as it reduces costs and prevents machine failure and unplanned downtime.
5. Start your heat exchanger gently Let’ s say you’ re about to start your inactive heat exchanger, and you fire it right back up to full flow. All the water, gas, or oil that’ s pushed through your heat exchanger will cause such an initial shock that it batters its gaskets and plates. Sure, your exchanger can handle the flow of liquids, but when done from 0-100 in one motion, there will be consequences. Instead, allow your heat exchanger to fill up slowly and then vent the air before turning it to full flow. Be kind to your exchanger, and it will reward you handsomely.
6. Continuously monitor your heat exchanger’ s performance, heat transfer and pressure drop If you don’ t track your heat exchanger’ s operational parameters, how will you know it’ s working like it’ s supposed to?
The first step toward monitoring your heat exchangers’ performance, heat transfer and pressure drop is connecting them with temperature and pressure gauges( if you haven’ t already). Study the gauges and take a baseline measurement of both the cold and hot sides to create a temperature profile. This lets you clearly see the degradation in its overall performance over time. Continuously observing its performance is also essential for performance-based preventive maintenance, as it allows you to identify abnormal heat transfer levels. By always being aware of what and how it’ s doing, you can prevent both unexpected failures and process upsets. It’ s like putting an activity tracker on your heat exchanger to take its pulse. Every heat exchanger needs an activity tracker.
7. Don’ t overtighten your heat exchanger When your heat exchanger is leaking, you can always tighten it down. But tightening it too much will crush its plates and blow its gaskets, and render them useless. And if you try to open a heat exchanger with crushed plates, it will never close again, and you’ d have to buy new parts. That’ s why you should only tighten it to the minimum closing dimension. If it’ s still leaking after doing so, servicing is your only option.
Conclusion Finding the right balance between operational efficiency and costs for your plate heat exchanger doesn’ t have to be a challenge. By optimizing your heat exchanger’ s configuration, ensuring the correct number of plates, choosing a reliable vendor, and establishing a preventive maintenance schedule, you can enhance performance while keeping costs under control. Gentle startups, continuous monitoring, and proper tightening techniques further contribute to long-term efficiency and reliability. Implementing these seven tips will not only improve heat transfer efficiency but also reduce downtime, extend equipment lifespan, and lower overall ownership costs. A well-maintained and properly configured heat exchanger is key to a smooth, cost-effective operation. www. heat-exchanger-world. com Heat Exchanger World June 2025
49