Heat exchanger network synthesis with detailed heat exchanger design

Pressure drop and fouling are important issues in heat exchanger network synthesis, which are usually neglected. Heat exchangers were designed in detail during the heat exchanger network synthesis, and pressure drop and fouling effects were taken into account. Pinch analysis combined with exergoeconomic analysis was used for determining optimal minimum approach temperature (Delta T(min)) for heat exchanger network synthesis. Exergy consumption of heat transfer in HENs was calculated using a subsection integral on balanced composite curves. The heat transfer coefficients of all heat exchangers in the network were calculated iteratively to meet the requirements of optimal area and allowable pressure drops. The proposed method was applied to an industrial case. Numerical results indicate the importance of the detailed design of heat exchangers in HENs synthesis.