Lesson 8 - Heat Exchangers

In the previous lessons of this unit, you covered the principles and theory of heat transfer. We will now explore how this actually happens inside a brewery. Heat transfer is achieved using a heat exchanger. This lesson is about heat exchanger technology, its design and operation. So, hang on as we turn up the heat!

A heat exchanger is defined as a device that transfers heat from one fluid to another across a barrier.

To expand on this further, a heat exchanger will always involve the exchange of heat between two fluids (liquid or gas) but the fluids themselves do not come into direct contact. One fluid will leave with more energy (warmer) than when it entered the exchanger, and the other will leave with less energy (colder).

One of the most common every day uses of a heat exchanger is the radiator of a car engine. Hot water from the engine pumps through the radiator. As you drive, air flows over the radiator fins and cools down the water. The air is cooler than the water. This means heat is transferred from the water to the air without them actually coming into contact with each other. The water leaves the radiator cooler than when it entered, and the air leaves hotter.

Heat exchangers can come in multiple shapes, sizes, and configurations. In this lesson, we will focus on inline heat exchangers. In these exchangers, product passes through the exchanger as it is being transferred from one process to another. There are other types of heat exchangers that are not inline and we will learn about some of these in the next lesson. 

Can you think of areas in the brewing where inline heat exchangers are used?

Give yourself 5-10 mins to think about this and then click ‘Next’ and continue with this lesson.