Start with the process duty. Then select the plate pack, shell configuration, materials and flow arrangement.
Process liquids, oils and condensates. Review viscosity, fouling and allowable pressure drop.
Gas-side flow and nozzle dimensions selected around the required duty and pressure drop.
Steam and process-vapour condensation, including seawater-cooled service with appropriate materials.
Process evaporation, reboilers and kettle-type configurations selected for the operating conditions.
Explore the process objective and engineering questions for each duty. These are application guidance, rather than customer project references.
Cool export crude with a water circuit, or heat crude before separation and transfer.
Review viscosity at the actual operating temperature, wax appearance temperature, solids and minimum wall temperature. Counter-current flow is not always the best choice: a co-current arrangement may be evaluated to limit local overcooling.
Transfer heat from regenerated lean solvent to the rich stream before regeneration; use a separate cooler where the absorber needs a lower inlet temperature.
Specify solvent concentration, contaminants, approach temperatures, pressure difference between circuits and corrosion conditions. Solvent chemistry and cleaning compatibility govern material selection.
Recover heat from a hot process outlet to preheat incoming feed, reducing the load on the final heater.
For polymerising or temperature-sensitive fluids, examine residence time and wall temperature as well as bulk outlet temperature. Turbulence may help limit deposition, but does not eliminate fouling; cleaning access and filtration remain important.
Remove compression heat before the next stage or condition the suction gas using water, glycol or a compatible cooling circuit.
Review gas composition, pressure loss, dew point and liquid carryover. Cooling can cause condensation, so the exchanger and downstream separator must be considered together.
Warm cold vapour before downstream handling, using a suitable heating utility.
Define the full inlet-temperature range, utility control, startup sequence and differential thermal expansion. Low-temperature toughness and avoidance of local freezing require project-specific review.
Condense reactor or column overhead vapour and remove latent heat into a cooling circuit.
Identify mixture composition, condensing temperature glide, non-condensable gases, vacuum conditions and condensate drainage. Allowable vapour pressure drop may control the channel and connection arrangement.
Condense the lower-temperature refrigerant while evaporating the higher-temperature refrigerant in a separate circuit.
Both sides undergo phase change. Review refrigerant charge, distribution, liquid level, oil management and pressure differential in normal operation and shutdown. The cascade temperature approach affects both stages.
Cool a water or glycol circuit through refrigerant evaporation. Flooded and direct-expansion systems require different feed and separation arrangements.
For flooded duty, review circulation and liquid level. For direct expansion, review inlet distribution and outlet superheat. Check freezing risk, minimum flow, part-load stability and oil return in both cases.
Use a heating utility to boil a process liquid or generate a secondary vapour stream.
Review boiling pressure, liquid inventory, vapour disengagement and circulation. Kettle-type integration or an external separator is a system design choice, not an assumed option for every model. Confirm the available configuration during selection.
Provide both fluids, flow rates, inlet and outlet temperatures, operating and design pressures, allowable pressure drop and material requirements. For an existing installation, include the nameplate and arrangement drawing.