Plate heat exchanger

Efficient, safe and reliable: Plate heat exchanger, the core thermal management expert in food production

In the field of modern food and beverage processing that pursues extreme efficiency and absolute safety, food plate heat exchangers play a vital role. It is like a “thermal energy precision regulator” on the production line, providing precise heating, cooling, pasteurization or heat recovery solutions for various liquid and semi-liquid foods (such as milk, juice, beverages, sauces, soups, beer, syrup, etc.) in an efficient, gentle and hygienic way.

Core working principle:
The core is that it is composed of multiple pieces of stainless steel sheets (usually food grade 316L or higher) that are precisely stamped into corrugated shapes, forming a complex and staggered narrow flow channel. Two fluids (such as the food to be processed and the heating/cooling medium) flow in opposite directions on both sides of these thin plates, and the heat exchange is fully and quickly carried out through the huge surface area of ​​the metal plate. The corrugated design not only greatly increases the heat exchange area, but also promotes strong turbulence, significantly improves the heat transfer efficiency (usually up to 80%-90%), and effectively reduces scaling.

Why is it an ideal choice for the food industry?

Excellent hygiene and safety:

Reliable materials: The main contact parts are made of food-grade stainless steel (316L) and food-grade rubber sealing gaskets that meet strict standards such as FDA, EHEDG, 3-A, etc.

Clean structure: The smooth plate surface and “no dead corner” design (thanks to the detachable structure) greatly reduce the risk of microbial growth and are easy to thoroughly clean and sterilize (CIP/SIP).

Sealing guarantee: High-quality gaskets ensure strict separation of different media to prevent cross contamination.

High thermal efficiency and energy saving:

The compact design provides a large heat exchange area/volume ratio, achieving fast and gentle thermal treatment (such as pasteurization can be completed in a few seconds), and retaining food flavor, color and nutrients to the greatest extent.

Excellent heat recovery capacity, which can use the waste heat of hot products to preheat cold raw materials, significantly reduce steam or refrigerant consumption, and greatly save energy costs.

Flexible operation and strong adaptability:

By increasing or decreasing the number of plates, the heat exchange capacity can be easily adjusted to meet different production and process requirements.

The modular design is easy to maintain, and the plates and gaskets can be checked and replaced separately.

Suitable for a wide range of processing from low-viscosity to medium-viscosity products.

Compact and space-saving:

Compared with shell and tube heat exchangers, the volume and floor space are significantly reduced at the same heat exchange capacity, optimizing the factory space layout.

Wide application scenarios:

Pasteurization and sterilization: liquid milk, juice, beverages, egg liquid, etc.

Heating: preheating, scalding, dissolving (sugar, chocolate, etc.).

Cooling: rapid cooling of products, precooling before freezing, cooling of fermentation tanks.

Heat recovery: recovering heat from hot products for preheating cold feed.

CIP system: heating or cooling cleaning fluid.