Annular space heat exchangers, such as the HRS AS Series, work by passing the product through the gap between the inner and outer tubes (the annular space), which makes them suitable for thick, highly viscous products such as those used in the food and beverages industry.
Such a design ensures even heating or cooling of the product, while the use of corrugated tube technology increases heat transfer and energy efficiency, as well as reducing product fouling on the tube surfaces. In its standard AS Series, HRS can provide for up to 25 bar of pressure, but for some applications even higher pressures are required.
One common example is the sterilization of tomato puree using multiple heat exchanger modules. Because of its viscous nature and the number of heat exchanger modules that may be involved in large-scale treatment (sometimes as many as 20 or 30 elements), the product needs to be pumped at considerable pressure.
HRS also offers a high-pressure version of the AS Series with thicker tube walls around the product. The design means that process pressures of up to 150 bar can be accommodated on the product side of the heat exchanger, making it ideal for applications such as pasteurizing and sterilizing tomato and strawberry purees.