High flow turbulence between plates results in higher heat transfer however, the consequence is pressure drop.

Because of the plate pattern and pressing depth design, these fluids flow easily through the heat exchanger. The WideGap heat exchanger is tailor-made to handle fibrous fluids, highly viscous fluids, and fluids containing coarse particles. For the highest thermal performance and to enable a very close temperature approach, fluids normally run counter-currently through the heat exchanger. The sealing between the plates is made of gaskets. The heat transfer area of a gasketed plate-and-frame heat exchanger consists of a series of corrugated plates, assembled between the frame and pressure plates, which retain the design pressure. The excess steam is now used for electricity generation. The revamp led to a cut in live steam consumption by 40-50%. The WideGaps recover heat from two process streams and use it to preheat mixed juice. SantelisaVale replaced 15 inefficient shell-and-tube units with six Alfa Laval WideGap plate heat exchangers.

Flexible - easily optimize performance by reconfiguring the plates to fit the new operating conditions.

Increased production - service intervals are longer because clogging is minimized.

Better heat recovery- thanks to the WideGap's counter-current flow, it can heat the cold stream to a temperature very close to that of the entering hot stream.

Compact size - occupies as little as 20% of the floor space and is about 80% lighter when filled with process media.

WideGap heat exchangers have much higher thermal efficiency and better flow geometry than a conventional alternative such as shell-and-tube heat exchangers, leading to benefits such as: The smooth port design ensures fibers don’t get stuck at the entrance. They can be configured with wide-wide or wide-narrow channels, which make the units ideal for heating, cooling and interchanging duties.

The wide gaps between plates allow fibers and particles to easily pass through the heat exchanger with minimum clogging. WideGap gasketed plate heat exchangers are designed for fibrous fluids and for fluids containing coarse particles.

Alfa laval heat exchanger usa