The Impact of Fouling on Heat Transfer, Pressure Drop, and the Effectiveness of Heat Exchangers

A heat exchanger is a device used for effective heat transfer between two fluids (liquid or gas).Heat exchangers are utilized in various industries, including air conditioning, automotive, oil, gas, petrochemicals, and many others.Most heat exchangers in the industry are subject to fouling due to non-compliance with operational guidelines, incompatibility with chemical materials, or low-quality water in different regions.These deposits primarily form in the pipes or tubes of the exchangers and result in reduced heat transfer, consequently increasing production costs.To mitigate the effects of fouling, the performance of the exchanger must be continuously monitored and regularly cleaned.This process should be carried out at specified and appropriate intervals.Despite the significant costs that fouling imposes on facilities, very limited research has been conducted in this area.According to studies, 15% of the maintenance and operational costs of a facility can be attributed to boilers or heat exchangers, with half of these costs spent on descaling.Therefore, this research examines the fouling formation process, descaling methods, ways to prevent or reduce it, and the impact of fouling on heat transfer rates, mass transfer, and pressure drop.