Heat exchangers

Heat exchange area: 0.6 to 23m2
Material: Borosilicate glass 3.3 / Silicon Carbide (SiC) / Hastelloy© C22 / glass lined steel / PTFE / Tantalum / stainless steel
Pressure range cooling media: 3 bar (spiral condenser) / 5 bar (shell & tube condenser)

Heat exchangers are used for condensation, mainly in vacuum distillation, absorption and rectification processes in chemical reactors. Glass heat exchangers enable visual process control during scale-up and production and allow the processing of a multitude of different chemical substances. The primary heat exchanger is often operated in combination with a secondary heat exchanger / condenser typically operated at lower temperatures for additional vapor condensation. Büchi offers glass spiral type heat exchangers as well as shell and tube type heat exchangers.

The glass spiral heat exchanger type can be operated in parallel to form large heat exchange areas for higher condensation throughput and larger reactors systems. They are simple and rugged in design and almost maintenance-free in operation.

Shell and tube type heat exchangers are built with inner tubes made of borosilicate glass, glass-lined steel, silicon carbide (SiC), Hastelloy© C22, tantalum or other metals, depending on process parameters and other requirements. SiC heat exchangers feature highest possible thermal transfer (heat transfer capacity), thus reducing the required heat exchange area compared to full glass type heat exchangers / condensers. Optional safety chambers enable easy leakage detection (cooling media) and increase the operational safety and reliability.