Modification of heat transfer surfaces for fouling mitigation

Fouling reduces the thermal efficiency of heat transfer units and is one of the major unresolved problems in most industrial processes. It causes economic losses and has a marked effect on CO2 releases and thus on climate change. Novel non-fouling materials would give sustainable solution to industry for mitigating fouling. Materials are often tested without any structural information, and clear knowledge about the effect of material structural properties on fouling is still lacking. In this study, suitable surface modifications for stainless steel heat exchangers are experimentally investigated and tested, and corresponding structures are modelled with molecular modelling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Deposition formation in channels of heat exchangers is estimated using CFD fouling models for both the crystallization and particulate fouling. Results are utilized in mitigation of fouling in liquid based heat exchangers used in dewatering and evaporation processes in mineral processing and in prohibition of formation of soluble inorganic fouling in biomass-based energy production.