Process Equipment and Plant Design
In a shell and tube heat exchanger for a given heat transfer surface area, smaller diameter tubes are favoured as compared to larger diameter ones ; because the smaller diameter tubes
Are less prone to fouling
Can be fitted into a smaller shell diameter hence the cost of the heat exchanger would be less
In operations involving large temperature changes. (e.g. distillation), plate towers are preferred over packed towers as the packing may be crushed due to large temperature changes
The total weight of a dry plate tower is usually much more than that of a dry packed tower designed for the same duty
Plate tower is perferred, if interstage cooling is required to remove heats of reaction or solution
Plate tower is preferred over packed tower, if the operation involves liquids containing dispersed solids
EXAMIANS