Horizental Vs Vertical Condenser

[mkhurram79]

Horizontal Vs Vertical Condenser


This is general discussion thread. I request all members to share their practical experience and theoretical knowledge. Discussion question is

"What are the rules and criteria for selecting a horizontal condenser or vertical condenser for a given condensation"


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[A.Venugopal]

A Vertical condenser requires additional power for pumping , requires sufficient head room for tube cleaning , replacement . Usually the first choice is to configure a horizontal installation.

Venugopal

[mbc.engg]

Space limitation on horizontal floor would be one of the criteria to adopt vertical condensers.

[A.Venugopal]

Hi Mukesh,

good point.

One more consideration favoring a horizontal installation is it is easier to add a hot well and to maintain the condensate level while retrieving the condensate in a horizontal installation.
Further on : A horizontal installation aids in drop wise condensation where as a vertical installation tends to create film condensation .

Bye and best regards

Venugopal

[mkhurram79]

First and foremost, allow me to state that there is no general “rule of thumb”, criteria, or equation to determine whether a horizontal exchanger is better for your application than a vertical unit. Unfortunately (or fortunately) God has seen it fit and necessary for you to use the ingenuity and practical talents He invested in your person. In other words, the manner in which one determines which unit to employ is to study, calculate and re-study the application and its scope of work thoroughly in order to satisfy yourself that you are selecting the most practical and operable type. I will give you some examples to try to show you how a design engineer would go about deciding, but first you must fix certain parameters:

Is the unit a TEMA type shell and tube heat exchanger? If not, then the question is moot since orientation for a plate-and-frame or a spiral type is usually fixed by the fabricator.
Is the physical location limiting in available space or is the footprint a problem? If so, then you may not have a choice but to go with a vertical unit.

Example 1: A condenser that requires tubeside fluid to be condensing with shellside fluid to be vaporizing.
This is a classical case of BKU kettle and is a typical “no-brainer” with a mandatory horizontal orientation. The reason (of course) is that if you try to handle a condensate forming inside a vertical U-tube, you are going to have a hydraulic fiasco on your hands. It just won’t work hydraulically. More importantly, it is a configuration that is a maintenance nightmare. You can just imagine the problem of having to raise the U-tube bundle up and out of the shell (or drop it down). Horizontal configuration is the only workable option with the vapor introduced into the top of the tube bundle and condensate exiting the bottom outlet of the U-tubes.

Example 2: A condenser that requires subcooling of the product liquid.
This is often a case for the vertical configuration because if you can place the condensing phase in the shellside of a vertical, type BEM unit you can control a liquid level on the condensed liquid while you introduce vapor at the top of the shell. Depending on the level of the liquid, you can subcool the condensate formed before removing it if you circulate your cold stream in the tube side. Of course, you can also do a similar thing with a horizontal unit, but you will often find that you have to cover an excessive amount of tube area this way versus using the vertical orientation.

There are many other examples I could cite, but I hope you get the gist of what I am trying to demonstrate in being able to analyze in detail the operation that you want to bring about with ease, simplicity and effectiveness. All applications are not the same; you have to dedicate creative engineering time and effort into finding the best suited orientation and configuration for your case in hand. This involves a thorough process knowledge and background as well as mechanical – which is one of the reasons why I’m always demanding more and more mechanical preparation and knowledge from Chemical Engineers.

[poony]

usually, vertical type is for small condensate capacity and horizontal one is for big condensate volume.

[A.Venugopal]

Many thanks to Mr Khurram for the good advises.

Very certainly any design job ought to involve detailed analytical evaluation of various options . No question about it. Here we are jotting down various issues to assist a prospective designer to take in to consideration while on the job of evaluating a horizontal or vertical installation of a condenser.

May I bring to the notice of Mr Khurram that it might not be necessary that a requirement involving subcooling of condensate uses extra tube area in horizontal installation . I cite the example of power plant feed water heater . Here three different heat transfer modes occur. First heat exchange between super heated steam ( shell side fluid ) , second condensation of steam and lastly sub cooling of condensate . ( Of course the feed water heaters use U tubes . U tube maintenance in horizontal installation is as much a pain as it is in vertical installation ). World across more than 80 % of feed water heaters are of horizontal design.

Yes, we can not generalize. We ought to do a lot of work to decide on the best suitable design , in any design endeavor, including a horizontal vs vertical disposition of condenser.

Bye and best regards

Venugopal

[mkhurram79]

Thanks
A.Venugopal
for your valueable comments. I would like to request all other members to participate in this discussion and share their knowledge.

[cobracommand]

nice and informative discussion. upto my knowledge it all depends upon prevailing circumstances