Tempco Blog articles

PCHE exchangers for hydrogen refuelling stations at Hydrogen Expo

10/09/2024

Let’s gonna talk again about PCHE, printed circuit heat exchangers. This week Tempco is participating at the Hydrogen Expo, in Piacenza, Italy (hosted by the MCD stand in Pav.1 Booth B118), an exhibition dedicated to the hydrogen technologies. Tempco will be present because this is a very interesting market with very interesting applications, and especially with regard to hydrogen distribution applications.

Everyone is involved in problems related to mobility and sustainability, and one of the incoming solutions for the near future is related to cars or anyway transports and vehicles using hydrogen as energy source in the powertrain. Hydrogen both as a direct source of energy for internal combustion engines or as indirect source of energy to power electric engines in electric vehicles and e-mobility solutions.

Tempco scambiatori PCHE sistemi distribuzione idrogeno refueling

In fact, we are especially speaking about hydrogen distribution stations, for the refueling of cars and vehicles powered with hydrogen, thus employing hydrogen powered engines. In particular, these distribution systems require the presence of heat exchangers in order to decrease the hydrogen temperature during the refueling operations for these kind of vehicles, cars, buses, trucks or whatever. Decreasing the hydrogen temperature and storing a high pressure volume of it aiming at lowering refueling times and to be able to store the hydrogen at the proper pressure level.

Tempco scambiatori PCHE sistemi distribuzione idrogeno hydrogen refueling stations

PCHE exchangers, thanks to their peculiar characteristics, consisting in being fully manufactured in stainless steel, completely welded, and thus constructed in a compatible material, being full-inox, these exchangers are the ideal solution for hydrogen cooling tasks.

We have seen it already in other videos focused on PCHE exchangers employed in multi-stage compressors for hydrogen and technical gases. In this case a mono-stage exchanger is employed for the direct cooling of hydrogen but with very high operating pressures.

The application is very intriguing. If you’re interested, come visit us in Piacenza at Hydrogen Expo, Pav. 1 Booth B118, or contact us.

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Importance of maintenance in plate heat exchangers and replacement of gaskets

06/09/2024

As already highlighted in a recent article on heat exchangers maintenance, regular maintenance of plate heat exchangers is crucial in order to esnure the efficiency and longevity of the system they serve. In fact, these devices play a fundamental role in temperature control within industrial production processes, transferring heat between two fluids.

However, with time and continuous use, the plates can accumulate deposits and the seals can deteriorate, compromising the performance and integrity of the entire system.

One of the key aspects of maintaining the transfer efficiency of plate heat exchangers is the replacement of gaskets. Gaskets are essential components that guarantee the tightness of the system. There are two main types of gaskets: glued and clip-on.

Tempco manutenzione efficienza scambiatori a piastre

Tempco manutenzione scambiatori di calore a piastre

Glued gaskets: these gaskets are permanently attached to the plates with an adhesive. They allow for easier on-site plate washing operations, but replacing them can be more laborious and requires careful cleaning of the surfaces before applying the new gaskets.
Clip gaskets: these gaskets are designed to be easily removable and replaceable without need of adhesives. Clip-on seals are more convenient for periodic maintenance as they can be quickly removed and replaced, reducing system downtime.

The market is now dominated by clip seals.

It is essential to carry out regular inspections to detect any signs of wear or damage to the seals, such as cracks, swelling or loss of elasticity. A compromised seal can lead to fluid leaks, contamination and heat transfer inefficiency.

In conclusion, preventive maintenance and timely replacement of gaskets in plate heat exchangers are essential to maintain optimal performance and extend the useful life of the system. Investing time and resources in regular maintenance not only prevents costly breakdowns, but also ensures efficiency and safety of industrial operations.

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Adiabatic free cooling for energy saving in the chemical industry

26/07/2024

For a main chemical group, Tempco has recently completed the supply of an adiabatic free cooling system that serves the production lines of basic products for the cosmetics industry.

The customer’s facility employs a system served by chillers, and as part of a new investment has considered to enhance the system with the integration of an adiabatic free cooling system, in order to save energy and optimize the production process. Tempco therefore provided the initial study to evaluate the effective potential impact and advantages that free cooling could guarantee to the customer, in terms of greater efficiency and energy saving.

Tempco free cooling adiabatico raffreddamento impianto chimico

Once the investment was approved, complete with the calculation of the related ROI, we supplied a dry cooler combined with the control and pumping system of the plant, in order to integrate everything with the existing refrigeration system. The solution obviously uses inverter-controlled fans, which guarantees regulation of the speed and the reduction of related energy consumption based on actual process needs.

Lastly, we have supplied a series of shell and tube exchangers for the temperature regulation of the diathermic oil, which is also achieved thanks to the free cooling system.

Tempco free cooling adiabatico impianto chimico cosmetica

Tempco free cooling adiabatico impianto chimico

Tempco free cooling adiabatico impianto chimico energy saving

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Free flow exchangers for thermal energy recovery in the textile industry

19/07/2024

Plate heat exchangers can be employed for an interesting and particular field, which is the energy recovery. And in particular, energy recovery within the textile sector, using a special kind of plate heat exchangers called free flow exchangers.

These are special plate heat exchangers with very large passage channels and without contact points among the plates, and that’s the reason why they are called free flow.

In fact, as you can see in the pictures in the video below, the channel is very large and with no contact points between the plates. This involves clearly a negative effect in terms of thermal transfer efficiency, because the thermal transfer coefficients are lowered by having these large passage channels. But otherwise these exchangers offer great advantages when working with dirty fluids or containing solid suspended particles.

This is the typical case with cooling or for energy recovery from fluids coming from the industrial process in sectors such as paper mill or textile. An interesting application of these plate heat exchangers is in the textile production, where it’s possible to recover energy from the hot water coming from the dyeing tanks for fabrics dyeing, aimed at the pre-heating of the water that is going to be used to fill the tanks. In fact, it’s possible to reuse the thermal energy contained in the waste hot water coming from the dyeing process by letting it into the free flow exchanger, using it to heat the water that will be used for the new dyeing baths.

This really is a heavy duty application where a traditional plate heat exchanger couldn’t be employed. Instead, this application can be achieved with heat exchangers having a lower transfer efficiency but offering easy maintenance and that get not clogged. Free Flow plate heat exchangers are employed in substitution of those kind of exchangers that at this point become obsolete, with in fact a low thermal transfer efficiency.

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Thermoregulation unit with diathermic oil and first start-up service in cosmetics

12/07/2024

For a customer who operates in the cosmetics sector, we completed the supply of a thermoregulation unit serving a cosmetic bases preparer. The temperature control unit employs diathermic oil at 180° C with a cooling section, and has an external probe to control the temperature in the customer’s machine, as well as an internal limit thermostat to guarantee protection of the system from overtemperatures.

The thermoregulating unit is complete with flexible pipes for connection to the utility, and is equipped with an electrical panel with interface that allows the management and monitoring of the unit by the machinery.

With the supply of the thermoregulation unit, Tempco also offered assistance with the commissioning and first start-up of the system, a type of service that customers very often require. Specifically, the customer asked for our support in the initial start-up and filling phases of the system. In fact, this is an extremely delicate and very important phase in diathermic oil thermoregulation units, as we have already underlined several times in other articles dedicated to this subject, to ensure that all the air present in the hydraulic circuit has been removed, to make sure that there are no leaks and slowly bring the system at its working temperature in order to avoid thermal shocks.

Tempco centralina settore cosmetica

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Free cooling, what it is and when the ROI is advantageous

05/07/2024

There is a lot of talking about free cooling, at different levels, and it is a really interesting application for industrial process cooling tasks. We are in fact dealing with free cooling when we have a low energy consumption cooling system.

But when is it possible to install a free cooling system? Often there are process industries that require cooling activities within their production process with rather low cooling water temperatures. Let’s say 10-15 or even 20° C. These are requirements that an evaporative tower cannot satisfy during the hot season, nor a system with a radiator, which exploits heat dissipation through the air.  It is therefore necessary to use refrigerating groups.

But there are environmental conditions, during the cold season, or even during the coolest hours of the day, in which a refrigeration unit is essentially a waste, because being able to exploit the favorably cold environmental conditions in these situations, a dry cooler could be enough, i.e. a heat sink. What kind of advantages does a free cooling system bring?

In terms of costs, this is clearly something more that we need to implement within the refrigeration system. Basically, you must accompany a refrigerator with a free cooling system, an object that probably during the summer season will be useless. But during the winter season, it will allow to turn off the chillers. This actually leads to significant energy savings.

Taking a rough balance, with a refrigeration unit with COP 3 (Coefficient of Performance) to obtain a dissipation of 90 thermal kW, we have an electricity consumption of 30 kW, more or less. Of this 30 kW, 24-25 kW is typically consumed by the refrigeration compressors aimed at cooling the water. By using a free cooling system, these 24-25 kW will vanish because only the kW used for ventilation will remain, of course, and the kW dedicated to the water circulation pump. It is therefore clear that we will have significant energy savings while dissipating the same amount of thermal energy.

Now it’s also possible to make a couple of evaluations to understand what the return on investment of a free cooling system could be. Let’s say that there are many applications in which free cooling is certainly an excellent solution. It clearly depends on the latitude: the more the system is installed in a cold region or one that has a longer cold season, the easier it will be to have a shorter ROI of the free cooling solution.

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Hydrogen technologies, supply chain sinergies in the USA with Microchannel Devices

28/06/2024

In Tempco we are excited to announce that our partner for PCHE Microchannel Devices attended the prestigious Hydrogen Technology Expo North America event, held on June 26-27. This event represents also a significant milestone for us in Tempco, and we are proud that MCD joins forces with the H2 TECHNOLOGY Consortium, an association that aims at bridging and helping Italian companies specialized in hydrogen technologies to develop their business globally and access the hydrogen supply chain in the North American market.

Tempco Micro Channel Devices Hydrogen Technology Expo Houston

Our collaboration with Microchannel Devices aims to present innovative solutions and promote advances in hydrogen technology. PCHE exchangers – printed circuit exchangers, are in fact a key component to foster the deployment of hydrogen technologies, being able to sustain extreme working pressure levels required by the compression process of hydrogen thanks to a special construction process, called diffusion bonding.

Microchannel Devices Tempco Hydrogen Expo Texas Vaiarelli Actis

Pictured here above, Alessandro Vaiarelli, CEO of MCD, and Carlo Actis, general manager of the company, at the H2 TECHNOLOGY Consortium booth during the Hydrogen Techology Expo.

Tempco believes that the participation at this event in North America will be a fantastic opportunity to connect with industry leaders in the rapidly growing hydrogen industry, share knowledge and explore the latest trends in the sector.

Tempco Micro Channel Devices Alessandro Vaiarelli Hydrogen Expo

Alessandro Vaiarelli, CEO of Microchannel Devices, at the H2 TECHNOLOGY Consortium booth at the Hydrogen Technology Expo

Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this exciting journey within the hydrogen industry technologies. We look forward to making a positive impact and driving progress together for a more sustainable future.

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Revamping of cooling system for plastic molding of electro-medical devices

21/06/2024

For the most important Italian and European manufacturer of electro-medical devices, last year we carried out an intervention aimed at the revamping the cooling system of the customer’s complete plastic molding department. Previously, the department was served by a disposable water line and it was decided to convert it into a closed loop cooling system with the implementation of air-cooled water chillers.

Together with the technical office we completed a series of surveys aimed at defining the thermal duty to be dissipated, information which due to the complexity of the system required a few months of surveys and checks, also due to the production periods at reduced speeds due to the COVID.

Tempco revamping raffreddamento stampaggio dispositivi elettromedicali

Having carried out the revamping of the cooling system in the plastic material molding department, after a first year of full operation the ownership confirmed the validity of the project and decided to invest in an upgrade, aimed at supporting future production expansions and, if necessary, provide a valid back up to the chillers currently in use in the plant.

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Multistream PCHE exchangers in hydrogen compression applications

14/06/2024

Let’s speak again about PCHE heat exchangers (printed circuit heat exchangers), that we have already treated in the previous videos in our Tempco Youtube channel and other articles. A few time ago we have participated at the event mcT Hydrogen, and it has been a very interesting event that showcased and anticipated the development of technologies in the hydrogen market for it’s distribution and compression and overall everything that refers to the hydrogen technology.

During mcTER we had many interesting leads, and in particular regarding the application of PCHE exchangers, which as I have often explained is definitely important. A peculiar application is related to the cooling of the gas in multistream exchangers.

For the compression and distribution of hydrogen, multi-phase compressors are employed in order to increase hydrogen pressure level. Hydrogen, between each phase, must then be cooled because otherwise it reaches levels that exceed the tolerances of the mechanical components of the compressors, thus meaning pistons, cylinders and the compressor itself.

Therefore so called inter-stage exchangers are employed, heat exchangers aimed at cooling the gas between the different phases. Clearly, hydrogen during the compression phase reaches high temperatures but also very high pressure levels, way much higher than other industrial gases usually employed. And so it is necessary to employ appropriate heat exchangers, and properly sized for this kind of application.

Shell and tube exchangers are normally employed, because they are able to withstand high pressure levels. Plate heat exchangers, even brazed ones, don’t indeed reach those pressure levels required because, for example, brazed plate exchangers for CO2 applications can reach a maximum working pressure of 140 bar. For sure a quite high pressure level, but not enough for the levels required in hydrogen compressors.

The solution is to employ PCHE exchangers, which are very compact and ensure the proper mechanical characteristics for this kind of application. In addition, PCHE exchangers can be also realized in multi-stream execution. So we can realize the exchangers as multi-stream, and therefore inter-stage in a unique exchanger, having a unique exchanger that works as a multi-phase exchanger for all of the compression phases.

The application is very interesting, very particular, and in Tempco we have already deployed it.

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Plate heat exchangers revamping in steel mill

07/06/2024

For an important steel mill in the province of Milan, we have recently completed the revamping of a series of plate heat exchangers. The intervention involved exchangers with DN250 connections and overall required the cleaning of more than 1.500 plates.

For some of the most obsolete models of heat exchangers in use at the customer’s production plant, after a survey completed with the collaboration of the maintenance office, it was decided to proceed with the complete replacement of the plate packs.

Tempco revamping pulizia scambiatori acciaieria

Other more recent exchangers have instead been completely regenerated by washing the plates and replacing the gaskets. The operation was completed within 3 months, taking advantage of the downtime of the production lines in alternating phases, in order to allow operational continuity for the customer and to bring the exchangers back to full thermal transfer efficiency.

Tempco revamping scambiatori acciaieria siderurgico