Fouling Characteristics of Milk-Water System in a Plate Heat Exchanger

Abstract

Fouling is a major problem which affects technical performance and economics of the plate type heat exchanger used for the pasteurization of milk and dairy products. In the present work, experiments were conducted with milk- water system using corrugated plate type heat exchanger (model: M3-FG Alfa Laval) with 13 plates. Experiments were conducted to determine the heat transfer characteristics and fouling resistance by varying the temperature and the flow rate. The enhancement of heat transfer by fouling minimization with the coating of plates with epoxy coating was also studied and reported.