DETERMINING THE PERFORMANCE OF A HEAT EXCHANGER USED IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY

The study of heat transfer in the food industry is as important as in any other industry. Food products are constantly subjected to heat treatments. For this reason, a sunflower food oil, which undergoes heat treatment in the manufacturing process, was chosen for this study. The study was carried out on a laboratory plant and aimed to determine the heat transfer coefficients for three sets of determinations: partial heat transfer coefficient inside - where the warm sunflower oil circulates, partial heat transfer coefficient in the annular space - where cold water circulates and overall heat transfer coefficient, in a tube-in-tube heat exchanger made of copper. The obtained values of heat transfer coefficients were compared with literature data for the same type of food oil. This type of heat exchanger, tube-in-tube, is specific to the food industry. Countercurrent circulation of flows through the appliance was established from the outset, as this type of circulation is preferred from the point of view of determining the performance of heat exchange appliances. Efficiency values were also established for the three sets of experimental determinations. For the calculations, the values for the temperatures of the fluids, both at the inlet and outlet of the apparatus and the values for the volume flow rates of the fluids were required.