Introduction

Plate heat exchangers are widely used in chemical, power, food, and pharmaceutical industries due to their high thermal efficiency and compact design. However, when dealing with fluids containing solids, fibers, or high viscosity, conventional plate heat exchangers often suffer from clogging and maintenance difficulties. To overcome these challenges, Siemens (formerly ALSTOM) developed the Platular® Heat Exchanger, a wide-channel plate heat exchanger that combines the advantages of both plate and shell-and-tube designs.

Conventional Plate Heat Exchanger

Structure

• Constructed from multiple corrugated plates forming narrow flow channels.

• Fluids flow in a “fishbone” pattern, ensuring high turbulence and heat transfer.

Advantages

• Very high heat transfer efficiency (3–5 times higher than shell-and-tube).

• Compact size and small footprint.

• Suitable for clean fluids at low to medium pressures and temperatures.

Limitations

• Narrow channels (2–5 mm), prone to clogging.

• Not suitable for dirty or viscous fluids.

• Limited performance in high-temperature and high-pressure conditions.

Platular® Wide-Channel Plate Heat Exchanger

Structure

• Uses wide-channel plates with a channel gap of 10–30 mm.

• Can be designed for cross-flow, parallel flow, or counterflow configurations.

• Modular design allows easy expansion, inspection, and cleaning.

Advantages

• Anti-clogging performance: Ideal for dusty, fibrous, or slurry-type fluids.

• High efficiency: Retains the strong heat transfer performance of plate exchangers while being more robust than shell-and-tube designs.

• Easy maintenance: Supports Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) and straightforward disassembly.

• Reliability: Suitable for high viscosity, high fouling, and continuous operation.

Limitations

• Higher cost compared to conventional plate heat exchangers.

• Larger size than traditional plate exchangers.

Typical Applications

• Conventional Plate Heat Exchanger: Food, beverage, HVAC, pharmaceuticals, and district heating with clean fluids.

• Platular® Wide-Channel Plate Heat Exchanger:

  • Boiler plate air preheaters in power plants.

  • Flue gas heat recovery (economizers, gas coolers).

  • Pulp and paper industry black liquor evaporation.

  • Chemical processes with viscous or fouling media.

Comparison Table

Conclusion

Conventional plate heat exchangers are best for clean, low-viscosity fluids where efficiency and compactness are the top priorities. By contrast, the Platular® wide-channel plate heat exchanger excels in demanding industrial environments, offering anti-clogging performance, easy maintenance, and reliable operation. For industries such as power generation, metallurgy, and pulp & paper, Platular® technology provides a superior solution for waste heat recovery and energy efficiency.