The sludge heat exchanger, or Komax Klean-Wall® Heat Exchanger, is mainly utilized for heating municipal sludge, FOG (Fats/Oils/Grease), or manure for aerobic/anaerobic digestion purposes. It is typically installed in a recirculation loop with a digester. The sludge heat exchanger can specifically be used to heat sludge using hot water OR to reclaim heat from hot outgoing digested sludge to heat the cold incoming sludge, enhancing biogas production and assisting in producing Class A biosolids.
Heating sludge to harness energy by capturing the biogas is a green practice utilized around the world in sustainable farming to capture methane gases. The biogas can be used to recover energy and generate power using a generator, and this energy can be used to power the other plant operations.
The Komax Hi-pass mixing technology of the heat exchanger eliminates the boundary layer, increasing the heat transfer efficiency. The turbulence created by the patented non-clogging Hi-pass mixing elements, set in a dual series of angles with a larger opening than the standard triple action static mixer, allows for sludge and debris to pass through the tube side and shell side piping, scavenges the pipe walls, resulting in low to no maintenance or production downtime. This technology keeps the pipe walls clean, by eliminating fouling or caking of sludge on the pipe wall, resulting in more consistent heating performance over time. This makes the sludge heat exchanger more thermally efficient than a standard shell and tube heat exchanger. Due to the heat transfer improvement, Komax shell and tube heat exchangers can be up to 50% smaller than a standard ‘tube in tube’ heat exchanger for the same heating application.