HEAT TRANSFER EQUIPMENTS

Heat Transfer

Heat transfer is the exchange of thermal energy between physical systems. The rate of heat
transfer is dependent on the temperatures of the systems and the properties of the intervening
medium through which the heat is transferred.

Heat Transfer Equipment

In bioprocessing, heat exchange occurs most frequently between liquids. Equipment is

provided to allow the transfer of heat while preventing the fluids from physically contacting each
other.

Bioreactors

Figure 1. Jacketed Vessel and External Coil

Two applications of heat transfer are common in bioreactor operation. The first is in situ
batch sterilisation of liquid medium. In this process, the fermenter vessel containing medium is
heated using stem at the sterilisation temperature for a period of time. Cooling water is then used to
bring the temperature back to normal operating conditions.

The other application of heat transfer is for temperature control during fermenter
operation. Most fermentation take place within the range 30 to 37 oC, tight control of the
temperature to within about 1oC is required. In large scale operations, cooling water is used to
achieve temperature control. In small scale fermenters, the heat exchange requirements are
different because the ratio of surface area to volume is much greater and heat losses through the
walls of the vessel are more significant. As a result, laboratory scale fermenters often require
heating rather than cooling. Enzyme reactors may also require heating to maintain optimum
temperature.

The surface area available for heat transfer is lower in the external jacket and coil designs
are when internal coils are completely submerged in the reactor contents. External jackets provide
sufficient heat transfer area for laboratory and other small scale bioreactors; however they are
generally inadequate for large scale fermentations.

Figure 2. Internal Helical Coil and External Heat Exchanger

Internal coils are used frequently in production vessels; the coil can be operated with high
cooling water velocities and the entire tube surface is exposed to the reactor contents providing a
relatively large heat transfer area.
The external heat exchange unit is independent of the reactor, easy to scale up and can
provide greater heat transfer capacity than any of the other configurations.
General Requirement for Heat Transfer

Many types of general-purpose equipment are used industrially for heat exchange
operations. The simplest form of heat transfer equipment is the double-pipe heat exchanger. For
larger capacities, more elaborate shell-and-tube units containing hundreds of square meters of heat
exchange are required.

Double Pipe Heat Exchanger

Figure 3. Double Pipe Heat Exchanger

A double pipe heat exchanger consists of two metal pipes, one inside the other. One fluid
flows through the inner tube while the other flows in the annular space between the pipe walls.
When one of the fluids is hotter than the other, heat flows from it through the wall of the inner tube
into the other fluid. As a result, the hot fluid becomes cooler and the cold fluid becomes warmer.

Flow in a double-pipe heat exchanger can be co-current or counter-current.

Figure 4. Counter flow and Parallel flow Heat Exchanger

In counter-flow heat exchangers the fluids enter the exchanger from opposite ends. Cold
fluid entering the equipment meets hot fluid just as it leaving, and cold fluid at its lowest
temperature is placed in thermal contact with hot fluid also at its lowest temperature. The counter
current design is the most efficient, in that it can transfer the most heat from the heat (transfer)
medium per unit mass due to the fact that the average temperature difference along any unit length
is higher. That is, it will give the highest overall heat transfer coefficient for the double pipe heat
exchanger design.

In parallel-flow heat exchangers, the two fluids enter the exchanger at the same end, and
travel in parallel to one another to the other side. The exit temperatures of both streams lie between
the entrance temperatures. It is not as effective as countercurrent operation because less heat is
transferred.