Abstract

Plate heat exchangers (PHEs) were introduced in the 1930s and were almost exclusively used as liquid/liquid heat exchangers in the food industries because of their ease of cleaning. Over the years, the development of the PHE has generally continued towards larger capacity, as well as higher working temperature and pressure. Recently, a gasket sealing was replaced by a brazed material, and each thermal plate was formed with a series of corrugations (herringbone or chevron). These greatly increased the pressure and the temperature capabilities.