In a previous post, we explored the challenges and solutions regarding temperature control in ATEX environments, focusing on the design of safe and efficient thermoregulation units. As previously mentioned, one of the most effective strategies for optimizing temperature control in these applications is to separate the control panel from the hazardous area by installing it in a safe zone. This configuration offers numerous advantages in terms of safety, reliability, and operational management.

Dual-configuration approach: ATEX TCU + Remote control
To ensure optimal temperature control in explosive hazard zones, temperature control units (TCUs) are frequently designed as two separate units:

• The TCU itself, installed within the ATEX area
• A remote control panel, positioned in a safe zone

This solution eliminates the need for complex electronic devices within the ATEX area, thereby reducing the risk of failure and simplifying maintenance.

The dual-configuration solution therefore comprises several key components:

1. Temperature Control Unit (TCU) in the ATEX zone
   The unit installed in the ATEX zone houses all components involved in the temperature control process, designed with appropriate protection measures:
   • Heat exchangers and thermal circuits constructed using materials and configurations compliant with ATEX standards.
   • Explosion-proof electric heating elements.
   • Intrinsically safe certified temperature sensors (PT100, thermocouples).
   • Actuators and valves with Ex d or Ex i protection for thermal flow control.
   • Special shielded and insulated wiring to prevent overheating and leakage.
2. Control panel in the safe zone
   The heart of the temperature control system is located in a non-hazardous area, allowing for the implementation of advanced electronics without ATEX constraints:• Industrial PLC for temperature management featuring advanced PID control.
   • Touchscreen HMI for monitoring and manually adjusting TCU parameters.
   • Data logging and reporting capabilities for thermal performance analysis.
   • Remote management via connection to SCADA or cloud systems.

Image showing a temperature control unit (TCU); for ATEX zone installations, a dual configuration with a separate control panel in a safe zone allows for the use of advanced electronics to ensure maximum efficiency and reliability.

L'articolo ATEX zone TCU temperature control units, maximum efficiency with control panel in safe area proviene da Tempco Blog.

Brazed plate heat exchangers consist of stainless steel plates joined via copper or nickel brazing. They offer maximum heat transfer efficiency within a compact footprint, making them ideal for heat transfer where space is limited. Furthermore, the brazing process creates a plate pack with superior mechanical strength, enabling operation at higher pressures and across wider temperature ranges.

Immediate availability applies to models with standard connections and ports up to 2″. By focusing on the most common sizes and configurations, Tempco can respond promptly to urgent needs, replacement requests, and equipment downtime. In such situations, the quick delivery of a heat exchanger makes the difference between getting a system back up and running immediately vs suffering costly shutdowns.

Let’s discuss your needs
If you have a system to complete, a machine that is down, or wish to get ahead of market price increases, please contact us with the required size and connection specifications; we will check immediate availability and shipping times together.

L'articolo Brazed plate heat exchangers: when immediate availability makes the difference proviene da Tempco Blog.

For a TCU (Temperature Control Unit), this entails rapid temperature ramps, continuous thermal shocks, and fluctuations in heat transfer fluid volume. In such cases, sizing based on standard rules is no more effective. A practical example is the design of the expansion vessel: in these chemical and pharmaceutical applications, the fluid undergoes massive expansion as temperatures shift from -15°C to over 140°C.

For instance, a theoretical calculation based on standard parameters suggested a 1.800-liter tank for a particular customer application; however, by analyzing the fluid’s actual transient dynamics, we optimized the size it to just 1.000 liters.

The result was impressive: a 44% space saving on the skid while maintaining maximum safety, even during the most extreme thermal peaks.

L'articolo Design upon ‘batch’: thermal duty changes the rules in pharma proviene da Tempco Blog.

A natural question arises: why not feed utility fluids (glycol, water, steam) directly into the reactor jacket? While this might seem like the simplest approach, for glass-lined reactors, it would be a perfect recipe for disaster. Glass linings are highly sensitive to sudden temperature fluctuations; injecting steam at 8 bar immediately after glycol at -15°C risks causing catastrophic cracking.

The solution lies in the adoption of the mono-fluid temperature control concept across an extended range: a single heat-transfer fluid circulates continuously within the jacket’s closed loop, while three utility fluids (glycol at -15° C, industrial water at 25° C, and steam at 8 bar) condition its temperature outside the reactor itself.

The resulting advantage is clear: the intermediate fluid acts as a thermal buffer, ensuring excellent temperature uniformity across the vessel wall, thermoregulation precision within a tenth of a degree, and the elimination of thermal shock to the glass lining.

L'articolo One fluid, many temperatures: how to regulate the temperature of a glass-lined reactor proviene da Tempco Blog.

In fact, as indicated in the documentation, just five of the listed data are necessary and sufficient: the ‘must-have’ data – essential for initiating the sizing process- are those required for the thermal calculation:

• Primary fluid inlet and outlet temperatures
• Primary fluid flow rate
• Secondary fluid inlet and outlet temperatures
• Secondary fluid flow rate
• Fluid pressure (crucial in the case of gases)

Capacity is another important factor for the thermal sizing of the exchanger; however, if the other five data are available, capacity can be calculated from them.

The other data listed under the heading “DATA FOR HEAT EXCHANGERS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION” are useful for a more precise and comprehensive design but are not essential for an initial thermal calculation:

• Fluid types
• Max. operating temperature
• Max. operating pressure
• Oversizing % (margin)
• Allowable pressure drops (primary and secondary)
• Fluid viscosity
• Fluid specific weight
• Heat transfer coefficient
• Fouling factor

In summary, to begin the sizing process, it is essential to provide at least five of the listed thermal parameters – including pressure if a gas is involved. The remaining data help refine the unit’s design specifications but are not required at the initial stage. It is important to note that for special fluids, you must contact Tempco directly, as specified in the document.

FIVE FINGERS RULE

L'articolo Five key data for heat exchangers sizing proviene da Tempco Blog.

An important feature of this TCU is its construction in compliance with UL regulations, which establish safety standards for electrical and electronic equipment for use in the North American market. UL certification therefore allows our Tempco TREG units to be exported and installed for applications in the United States and Canada.

This particular thermoregulation unit has a cooling section using a shell and tube exchanger with stainless steel core. The TCU’s power supply is 575V-3Ph-60Hz-3Ph+T. The oil circuit is finally served by a UL 100 liter, 30 meter, 2.8 kW magnetic drive pump. The choice to use a magnetic drive pump, as an alternative to traditional mechanical seal pumps, is based on safety considerations.

Magnetic drive pumps eliminate any type of mechanical coupling, instead using a magnetic coupling between the motor shaft and the pressurized oil in the pump impeller. The exclusion of mechanical seals in the pumping circuit therefore eliminates any risk of possible leakage of diathermic oil at extremely high-temperature, ensuring overall safety of the equipment and eliminating the risk of pump cavitation due to air infiltration.

L'articolo UL-certified temperature control unit for carbon fiber impregnation proviene da Tempco Blog.

The Tempco Service team provides technical support for component identification, compatibility verification, and the supply of appropriate spare parts. First, it is necessary to identify the exchanger model, which is the basis for any spare parts request.

The exchanger model can be found from:

• Identification plate attached to the exchanger
• Technical drawings or thermal calculation sheets
• Tempco supply documents

It is also helpful to provide:

• Number of plates installed
• Gasket type
• Year of supply or serial number

The two tables below therefore offer valuable support when requesting spare parts for heat transfer plates and gaskets.

Finally, some helpful further tips:

• Send clear photos of the plates and gaskets for quick identification.
• Indicate the process fluid and operating conditions.
• Tempco can provide plate reconditioning and regeneration with leak testing.
• Keeping a spare set of gaskets reduces system downtime.
• Observe recommended tightening torque values when reassembling.

L'articolo Tempco’s spare parts ordering guide for plate heat exchangers proviene da Tempco Blog.

Precise control of heating and cooling temperature ramps is crucial to achieve the chemical reactions between ingredients in pharmaceutical production recipes, essential for the efficacy and quality of the finished products and active ingredients.

This TCU specifically allows to reach a maximum operating temperature of 300°C, thanks to an installed heating power of 300 kW equipped with a water-cooled section. The system’s efficiency is ensured by modulating power control in the reactor’s temperature regulation, achieved thanks to SCR thyristors. The TCU is finally equipped with a remote expansion vessel with a capacity of 1,500 liters.

L'articolo Modulating power temperature control unit for a pharma reactor 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.

Tempco already has several applications of temperature control units designed to meet the specific thermoregulation needs of molding carbon fiber components. The unit pictured below is a temperature control unit we recently supplied to a company in the province of Bergamo, specializing in the production of custom carbon fiber components for high-performance vehicles as well as other applications.

Tempco’s TCUs have a wide range of applications in the automotive sector, supporting our clients in defining the design and engineering process using a DFM (Design for Manufacturing) approach, aimed at achieving an ideal balance and harmony on both fronts. Maximizing aesthetic appeal while simultaneously enhancing the mechanical and structural performance of the components.

L'articolo Thermoregulation for custom carbon fiber components proviene da Tempco Blog.