Why Are Shell And Tube Heat Exchangers Preferred?

Operating plants that need to heat and cool various chemicals in their process operations have many types of heat exchangers from which to choose. Knowledgeable operating plants rely on their past experiences with various types of heat exchangers to determine which of those best fits their processing needs and gives them the performance to meet their objectives while offering the best maintenance alternatives. Many of the advantages of one type of heat exchanger over another type are obvious to a knowledgeable operating plant while many other advantages are much more subtle. The obvious advantages of shell and tube heat exchangers over other types such as plate and frame heat exchangers whether gasketed or all welded, hairpin, spiral, or block heat exchangers are as follows: