Another compelling aspect that further enhances the energy efficiency of liquid cooling solutions in data centers is the potential for implementing heat recovery systems. Because liquid absorbs heat more efficiently and in a more concentrated manner than air, the temperatures at the cooling system’s outlet are higher than those achieved with conventional air-based methods. This facilitates the adoption of highly advantageous energy recovery solutions, enabling the reused thermal energy to be applied to a variety of purposes—ranging from district heating and heat pumps to the heating of domestic hot water or the preheating of process fluids. In this way, the energy consumed by data centers—which would otherwise be dissipated as waste heat—is repurposed in line with circular economy principles, thanks to liquid cooling.

Tempco acts as a qualified system integrator for the implementation of liquid cooling skids for data centers, featuring brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs) as their technological core. There are various possible architectures for liquid cooling ecosystems in data centers (that often can also include chillers, free cooling and evaporative towers), and for each type, Tempco’s range of BPHEs offers the ideal solution to ensure maximum cooling efficiency and reduced energy consumption, thereby lowering the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of computing facilities.

It is therefore worth examining the advantages—as well as some related drawbacks—associated with different liquid cooling options for servers and chips. Whether using cold plates (conductive metal plates placed in contact with electronic components to remove generated heat via a coolant circulating through microchannels) or direct immersion cooling (where servers are submerged in dielectric fluids), there are two primary operating modes for the thermal cycle: single-phase liquid cooling and two-phase liquid cooling. The former involves no phase change of the coolant—which could, for instance, be a 75% water-glycol mixture—offering the advantage of a simpler system design.

In two-phase liquid cooling, the coolant boils either within cold plates or upon direct contact with components submerged in cooling tanks. The transition to a vapor phase necessitates a more complex system to manage the vapor, requiring the inclusion of condensers as well as precise control over pressure and temperature levels. Conversely, two-phase liquid cooling enables the removal of large quantities of heat with significantly higher efficiency than single-phase methods.

Another aspect involves the comparison between cold plates and immersion liquid cooling. The use of cold plates requires pumping systems and piping to deliver coolant to the plates positioned on the components, which introduces a risk of leaks that must be carefully monitored. Immersion liquid cooling, by contrast, offers a more streamlined system architecture; it facilitates more uniform cooling and simplifies inspection and maintenance—essentially requiring only that the level of the coolant or dielectric fluid in the cooling tank be kept sufficient. On the other hand, despite its simpler system layout, immersion liquid cooling entails higher initial costs, driven by the high price of the specialized dielectric fluids required and the need for custom-built hardware, which must be constructed using materials compatible with immersion in special cooling liquids (requiring, for instance, careful selection of appropriate adhesives and gaskets).

L'articolo Liquid cooling and high efficiency heat recovery in data centers proviene da Tempco Blog.

Today, the rapid and continuous rise in heat amounts from chips renders traditional air-conditioning systems inadequate. Tempco BPHE brazed plate heat exchangers—also available in an all-stainless-steel version—are the technological heart of this shift to liquid cooling; they act as a key technological enabler that brings sustainability to data centers by reducing PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) while simultaneously allowing for increased rack density.

The superior performance of liquid cooling stems primarily from the fact that liquids are more efficient than air at transferring heat, allowing for more effective heat dissipation and lower energy consumption for the same amounts of heat removed. This makes it possible to reliably manage the higher power densities typical of AI and HPC applications—delivering high performance in a more eco-friendly manner. Furthermore, liquid cooling allows for highly targeted and precise cooling, as liquids are easier to direct toward specific components than air. The cooling ecosystem is completed by free-cooling systems and chillers located outside the data center; these dissipate the heat extracted from the servers and conveyed outdoors via the BPHE exchangers.

Tempco supplies brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs) for data center liquid cooling, offering models and versions suitable for every type of liquid cooling method, regardless of the system architecture. Their highly compact design allows for easy integration into the Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs) found in liquid cooling systems, thereby saving space within the installation. Tempco’s process expertise and capability to manufacture integrated solutions—such as complete skid systems—offer a further advantage to data center manufacturers and operators, enabling the creation of compact, comprehensive solutions that are easy to install and integrate into computing infrastructures.

Tempco’s brazed plate exchangers are suitable for use in both cold plates and immersion cooling systems—the two main liquid cooling methods used in data centers. The product range covers a wide power spectrum, offering models from 5 to 200 kW for in-rack CDUs and units capable of handling 500 kW to 3 MW for stand-alone in-row CDUs.

Tempco’s range of brazed plate heat exchangers includes models designed for Direct-to-Chip (DTC) liquid cooling architectures that utilize cold plates. Cold plates technology employs conductive metal plates applied directly to high-power electronic components, such as GPUs and CPUs. The generated heat is absorbed by a coolant circulating through microchannel structures within the cold plates. In this liquid cooling system, the CDU acts as a hydraulic safety barrier: here, the overheated fluid arriving from the cold plates flows to the BPHE; once cooled, it is recirculated into the loop, remaining isolated from the external cooling water circuit (free cooler, chiller, and evaporative towers) and thereby protecting the IT equipment from potential contamination.

Tempco offers brazed plate heat exchangers for CDUs in liquid cooling solutions using cold plates for both “in-rack” architectures—where the exchangers’ compact size allows for easy CDU integration within server cabinets—and “in-row” setups, featuring standalone CDU cabinets separate from individual IT racks that can serve up to 10 servers simultaneously.

The product range also includes brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs) for immersion liquid cooling solutions. Unlike cold plates—which are applied directly to high-power chips and components, typically requiring hybrid solutions that rely on air cooling for other parts of the computing infrastructure—immersion liquid cooling involves submerging all hardware in dedicated tanks containing special dielectric fluids. This ensures uniform cooling across all components, thereby eliminating hot spots.

Finally, whether used with cold plates or immersion cooling,Tempco offers brazed plate exchangers optimized for single-phase liquid cooling systems, where the coolant (often a water-glycol mixture) remains in the liquid phase throughout the thermal cycle, as well as for two-phase cooling systems, where the coolant boils upon contact with the cold plate or the overheated servers. This two-phase approach offers superior cooling efficiency, making it ideal for high workloads and ultra-high-density racks; however, it requires a more complex cooling circuit to manage evaporation phases and ensure precise pressure and temperature control.

L'articolo Brazed plate heat exchangers for liquid cooling: high-efficiency computing density in data centers proviene da Tempco Blog.

In this specific case, the immersion plate heat exchanger arrays have been installed in the equalization tank, which receives the wastewater generated by the parboiling process—consisting primarily of water used to soak the paddy rice. The purpose of the custom immersion plate heat exchanger is to recover heat from the wastewater, yielding a dual benefit: first, the recovered heat preheats well water circulating within the plates to the highest possible temperature, resulting in significant energy savings by reducing steam consumption. Second, the heat transfer process cools the wastewater before it is sent to the purification plant, providing a substantial advantage for the biological treatment processes taking place there.

The system was implemented as custom and in retrofit, utilizing existing structures within the client’s equalization tank. Specifically, the existing agitators were leveraged to maintain a fluid velocity of ≥0.1 m/s, generating turbulence that enhances heat transfer efficiency. Furthermore, the immersion heat exchanger arrays were installed by anchoring them to decommissioned aeration pipes (2.0 x 2.6 m).

Overall, the system will enable significant energy savings for the client, recovering approximately 174 kW of heat (150,000 kcal/h) and saving 1,500–1,700 tonnes of steam per year. Material selection for the heat exchanger plates was also critical; AISI 316L stainless steel was chosen to ensure corrosion resistance (handling wastewater with a pH of 3.7–3.9 with no critical chloride levels). Fouling caused by starches in the wastewater was accounted for using a conservative fouling factor (4E-4 m²K/W). Finally, given the intermittent nature of the wastewater flow—process wastewater is discharged every two hours, though a minimum volume is always maintained in the tank—performance was calculated at 70% of the theoretical maximum to determine the system’s ROI.

L'articolo Wastewater heat recovery with custom immersion plate heat exchangers proviene da Tempco Blog.

A preventive check before summer is therefore essential to ensure production continuity, consistent performance, and controlled energy consumption.

A system that is not properly checked can encounter a series of interconnected problems during the summer months:

• Reduced cooling capacity, making it impossible to maintain the required process conditions
• Increased energy consumption, as the system operates unpredictably to compensate for inefficiencies
• Alarms and sudden shutdowns, often during peak production periods
• Loss of downstream process efficiency, with consequences for quality and productivity

To safely handle summer loads, a suitable best practice is to plan a systematic system check in advance. The main points to check are the followings:

Cleanliness and condition of heat exchangers. Heat transfer surfaces must be clean and free of deposits or fouling. Even a thin layer of fouling can significantly reduce the overall heat transfer coefficient (U), degrading the unit’s rated performance. The check must include both the process and service sides.

Water circuit and water quality. Pipe scaling, localized corrosion, and deterioration of cooling water quality are among the most common causes of problems during the summer season. It’s important to check the pH, hardness, and concentration of any inhibitors, as well as verify proper circulation within the circuits.

Ventilation and condensation components. In dry coolers and evaporative cooling towers, the condensation section is the first to be affected by high external temperatures. Checking that the fans are working properly, that the fins are clean, and that there are no obstructions to the airflow is essential to avoid compromising the unit’s capacity.

General functional check. The inspection must be completed with a comprehensive functional check: calibration of temperature and pressure controls, condition of control components, alarm management, and verification of the correct operating sequence under peak conditions.

Preventive maintenance conducted before summer allows for the identification and resolution of critical issues while there is still time to do so, avoiding emergency interventions during peak production periods.

L'articolo Cooling systems: what to check before summer to avoid machines downtime proviene da Tempco Blog.

Among the cooling solutions offered by Tempco for data centers, particular attention is paid to the most innovative liquid cooling technologies, which offer greater efficiency in dissipating heat generated by chips – and therefore better temperature regulation – thanks to the superior thermal conductivity of liquids compared to traditional air cooling solutions. Tempco brazed plate exchangers therefore serve as a key technology for CDUs – Coolant Distribution Units – used in the liquid cooling of high-performance data centers, a strategic path to reduce the environmental impact of data centers, increase their sustainability and improve energy consumption efficiency (PUE, power usage effectiveness).

The improved thermal management made possible by liquid cooling also allows data centers to operate at higher power densities while maintaining high performance and reliability.

Liquid cooling for servers and electronic devices uses dielectric fluids, suitable for direct contact with chips and electronic equipment, in the case of direct immersion cooling, or for cold plates applications. Cold plates are special components used in the liquid cooling of electronic components, made of metals with high thermal conductivity (typically copper or aluminum). The chip or electronic component that overheats is attached directly to the cold plate, and the heat is transferred to it by conduction. Inside, the coolant flows through special microchannel structures, which greatly increase the contact surface with the overheated metal. The liquid then absorbs the heat and, via a small pump, is pushed out of the cold plate towards a heat exchanger or chiller.

In addition to the superior heat dissipation efficiency of the heat generated by servers, liquid cooling also offers another key advantage: compactness, allowing for the creation of high-density computing structures in data centers while saving installation space. The Tempco range of brazed exchangers for liquid cooling in data centers therefore offers very compact dimensions, which allow for easy integration into CDUs inside racks or in-row architectures, which can serve up to 10 racks.

L'articolo Brazed plate heat exchangers for CDUs in liquid cooling for data centers proviene da Tempco Blog.

Gas turbines are extremely sensitive to fluid conditions, in terms of temperature, fluid density, and thermal profile stability. In many industrial applications (power generation, oil and gas, LNG, hydrogen-ready plants), precise control of gas temperature is essential to improve efficiency, reduce operational instabilities, and protect the equipment during transient conditions. This is where the Gas Turbine Performance Heater is involved.

A Gas Turbine Performance Heater is essentially a heat exchanger designed for gas preheating (air, fuel gas, process gas), with a controlled ΔT, high reliability, and often undergoing high pressure and continuous service. Typical applications include fuel gas conditioning, intake air heating, and heat recovery systems from oil/hot water/waste heat recovery circuits.

Tempco proposes PCHE exchangers as particularly suited to this role, as they offer significant key advantages over traditional shell-and-tube solutions:

• Extremely compact
• Resistance to high pressures (tens/hundreds of bar)
• Perfect thermal stability even with rapid gradients
• Minimal fluid accumulation → safety + fast response
• Channel geometry optimizable upon the actual operating point

In performance-driven turbine applications, this makes the difference.

PCHE + Turbine: a smart technical marriage
As a performance heater, the PCHE allows:

• very precise control of the inlet gas temperature
• low pressure drops (if properly designed)
• easy integration into compact skids
• reliable operation even in:
  ◦ offshore environments
  ◦ frequent start/stop cycles
  ◦ severe conditions (H₂ blend, dry gases, LNG boil-off)

When the focus is performance + reliability, the PCHE is often the most engineered choice, not just the most compact.

A double advantage is therefore achieved when increased performance is achieved by implementing a heat recovery system, and this is where the application becomes very interesting, when the PCHE is served by:

• heat recovery circuits
• jacket water
• hot oil
• process waste heat

The result is an increase in the overall efficiency of the system, a reduction in auxiliary consumption, and improved operational control of the turbine.

Tempco therefore positions itself as a strategic technology partner for the development and implementation of this type of application, providing not only the technology but also support for the engineering, in defining the actual duty cycle and verifying turbine-side pressure drops – a highly critical issue – and then ensuring the integration of PCHEs into complete skids and technical dialogue with EPCs and turbine OEMs. The PCHE is not a standard component, but a solution tailored to the plant.

In conclusion, the use of PCHEs as Gas Turbine Performance Heaters represents a natural, highly innovative evolution of high-performance applications in the oil and gas sector, effectively addressing the needs for compactness, safety, and control. Representing a perfect example of applied thermal engineering as a special and customized, non-standard solution.

L'articolo PCHE as gas turbine performance heater in oil & gas applications proviene da Tempco Blog.

Brazed plate heat exchangers are the ideal solution for these plants thanks to their compactness, high thermal efficiency, and total maintenance-free operation. Compared to traditional shell-and-tube heat exchangers, they offer a series of concrete advantages that make them particularly suitable for modular, high-power density installations in small spaces.

The choice of Tempco
In Tempco hydraulic power plants, brazed plate heat exchangers are custom-sized based on the customer’s operating conditions:

• flow rates
• viscosity
• operating temperature
• heat dissipation duty

The use of copper or nickel-brazed stainless steel heat exchangers ensures high corrosion resistance and long operating life, with consistent thermal performance over time. Their compactness and reliability make them the perfect choice for high-performance systems, where every detail counts to ensure operational continuity and energy savings.

In short, brazed plate heat exchangers maximize thermal transfer efficiency and reduce overall dimensions, simplifying maintenance and improving the reliability of hydraulic power plants.

L'articolo Brazed plate heat exchangers in hydraulic power plants proviene da Tempco Blog.

And this year again, we gladly take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays, a warm and Merry Christmas, and a New Year 2026 filled with… thermal Energy, green and sustainable as it can be.

Happy Holidays, from the entire Tempco team!

L'articolo Best wishes from Tempco, Happy Holidays and a New Year 2026 full of energy! proviene da Tempco Blog.

With original Tempco spare parts, however, the customer knows exactly what they’re installing, with the peace of mind of ensuring:

• materials compatible with the process fluid;
• guaranteed performance tested on our systems;
• compliance with pressure and temperature specifications;
• long-term reliability thanks to the selection of suppliers we’ve worked with for years.

The difference, therefore, lies not only in the quality of the components themselves, but also directly impacts operational continuity: a correct gasket maintains the efficiency of the exchanger; a certified pump guarantees effective flow; consistent resistance prevents overheating or excessively frequent start-up cycles.

Furthermore, in a heating system, every deviation generates inefficiencies and hidden costs: higher energy consumption, longer rise/fall times in temperature, and micro-stoppages in production.

For all these reasons, at Tempco we always remind our customers that an original spare part costs less than a system downtime.

Tempco offers a dedicated service for the rapid supply of spare parts, even for older or custom-built machines. Keeping your systems in ideal condition thus means preserving their useful life, ensuring consistent performance.

L'articolo Efficiency and operational continuity: original spare parts make the difference proviene da Tempco Blog.

Hydrogen is becoming one of the most promising solutions for a sustainable energy future. Refueling hydrogen vehicles requires precise temperature management to ensure safety and efficiency. PCHE heat exchangers offer an innovative and reliable solution to these needs.

Hydrogen refueling is challenging for a number of reasons: hydrogen must be compressed to extremely high pressures (up to 700 bar) to be stored in vehicle tanks. During this process, a lot of heat is generated; if it is not managed, refueling becomes slower and less efficient. This is where PCHE heat exchangers technology can be applied.

Several characteristics make PCHE exchangers so special, ideal to solve the challenges posed by hydrogen technologies. What are PCHEs? Imagine a compact and robust device capable of rapidly cooling fluids. Their usefulness in hydrogen applications has several aspects:

• They easily handle high pressures.
• They are small, so they take up less space at refueling stations.
• They cool the hydrogen quickly and precisely, speeding up the refueling process.

In the specific case of hydrogen refueling stations, the operation of PCHEs therefore adds value to a series of crucial steps to ensure the system’s efficiency and operational safety:

• During refueling, the hydrogen is compressed and then cooled by the PCHEs before entering the vehicle’s tanks.
• This process prevents the gas from overheating, making the process safer and faster.
• Simply put, PCHEs help refueling stations operate more efficiently, allowing drivers to refuel in just a few minutes.

To give a practical example, a refueling station equipped with PCHEs can refuel more vehicles in less time. This brings a series of key advantages:

• Time savings: less waiting time at the refueling station.
• Improved reliability: the system does not overheat and always operates at its best.
• Reduced operating costs, thanks to their energy efficiency.

Looking to the future of green mobility, the rise of hydrogen vehicles requires increasingly efficient refueling stations. PCHEs will be a key enabler of this growth, as their unique technology offers the ideal solution to overcome the challenges of hydrogen refueling. Thanks to their efficiency and reliability, they represent an investment in a greener and more sustainable future.

Find out how Tempco can support the growth of the hydrogen industry with dedicated innovative solutions. Contact us for a consultation or visit our dedicated website https://pche.it/en/.

L'articolo PCHE, a turnkey solution for hydrogen refueling stations proviene da Tempco Blog.