Research on the Use of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger in Installation for Heat Treatment of Aqueous Kaolin Suspension

Abstract

This paper contains an analysis of the process carried out in a heating system for the treatment of aqueous kaolin suspension in order to identify the causes of cyclical, relatively frequent loss of system functionality. The analysis showed that the main cause of the short usability time of the installation is the inappropriateness of the heat exchangers' construction for the implemented technology, while the physical and chemical parameters and the rheological properties of kaolin suspensions are of secondary importance. It is proposed to replace the plate heat exchangers used in the installation with heat pipe exchangers of special construction. The results of laboratory and experimental tests of a heat pipe exchanger designed specifically for the described application are presented. An empirical comparison of the effectiveness of the proposed heat exchanger with a double pipe exchanger was performed by conducting tests in the process conditions of genuine installations and using the method of ε-NTU for efficiency calculations.