ABSTRACT
Gasketed-plate heat exchangers (the plate and frame) were introduced in the 1930s mainly for the food industries because of their ease of cleaning, and their design reached maturity in the 1960s with the development of more effective plate geometries, assemblies, and improved gasket materials. The range of possible applications has widened considerably and, at present, under specific and appropriate conditions, overlaps and successfully competes in areas historically considered to be the domain of tubular heat exchangers. They are capable of meeting an extremely wide range of duties in many industries. Therefore, they can be used as an alternative to tubeand-shell type heat exchangers for low-and medium-pressure liquid-to-liquid heat transfer applications.
