Retrofit Procedure for Intensifying Heat Transfer in Heat Exchanger Networks Prone to Fouling Deposition

This paper presents a novel optimization method of addressing fouling effects in heat exchanger network (HEN) retrofit with intensified heat transfer. In the new approach, the fouling deposition in each heat exchanger is taken into account when heat transfer intensification is regarded as a retrofit option in HENs, and the optimization procedure proposed by Pan et al. (2012b) is developed to solve the addressed problems efficiently. A practical industrial process is carried out to show that with the consideration of fouling influence. The benefit that can be derived from implementing intensified technologies is not only increasing heat recovery but also extending exchanger operating times with the mitigation of fouling deposition.