Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHEs) are compact heat exchangers that have gained popularity due to their excellent heat transfer capabilities and other benefits. They are made utilizing a sophisticated solid-state joining process known as diffusion bonding, which produces a heat exchanger core with no joints, welds, or sites of failure, resulting in outstanding strength and integrity. PCHEs' unique design enables higher heat transfer rates, improved performance, increased safety, and lower operating costs.
They can operate at higher pressures and temperatures than typical heat exchangers, making them appropriate for newer processes like hydrogen refueling, which require maximum filling capacity. PCHEs are created by chemically etching a complicated flow pattern onto flat sheets of material. These sheets are subsequently fused in a high-temperature furnace. This method produces a solid core packed with heat transfer area, resulting in maximum efficiency and the smallest footprint, providing the lowest overall lifecycle cost. They are well-suited for various demanding applications and are used by major companies in the upstream hydrocarbon processing, petrochemical, and refining industries.
The Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers Market has become very popular for many reasons. A significant reason is the exclusive PCHE design and production method, which provides excellent robustness, integrity, and heat transfer efficiency. Diffusion bonding, a unique solid-state joining technique, is used in the production of PCHEs to create a heat exchanger core that is very strong and integrity-preserving, with no joints, welds, or sources of failure.
The Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers market is seeing increased demand from the petrochemical sector, where these heat exchangers are crucial for cooling volatile hydrocarbon samples and heating fuels such as diesel before being supplied to generators, with significant investments being made by international and national oil and gas companies to establish new production facilities, creating ample opportunities for printed circuit heat exchangers in this sector.
Additionally, the ability of PCHEs to function effectively in extreme hot and cold temperatures without being damaged and their customizable nature to suit specific customer contribute to their widespread adoption across industries such as oil and gas, power generation, marine, and clean technology systems. Interestingly, the global printed circuit heat exchangers market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period.
Moreover, the top 8 players dominating the printed circuit heat exchangers market are as follows -
Alfa Laval is a Swedish company developing plate heat exchangers for over 90 years. They offer a variety of heat exchangers, including Brazed and fusion-bonded plate heat exchangers, Gasketed plate-and-frame heat exchangers, Welded plate heat exchangers, Compabloc range of welded plate-and-block heat exchangers, Wide Gap heat exchangers. Alfa Laval's key technologies in heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling play critical roles in sectors worldwide, assisting customers in optimizing energy usage, lowering costs, and reducing environmental impact.
Heatric was created in 1985 by Adrian Tattersall. Heatric manufactures heat exchangers for new types of reactors, including compact heat exchangers for oil and gas field processing. Heatric has more than 30 years of experience and thousands of units in service. The company has world-class thermal engineering, etching, diffusion bonding, and stainless steel production skills. Heatric's Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) integrates engineering and manufacturing expertise to deliver high integrity, built-in safety, and size reduction.
HEXCES) is a part of Clean Energy Systems, Inc., which designs, develops, manufactures, and services compact heat exchangers. The company is headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, and has over 200 years of collective experience in platelet device design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing. HEXCES products are used in various industry applications, including power generation. The company's platelet technology dates back to the 1960s, and its employees have been creating compact platelet heat exchangers (CPHXs) for over 35 years.
Kelvion Holding GmbH focuses on developing, manufacturing, distributing, and trading heat exchangers, air filtration systems, plastic filling media, aeration and ventilation solutions, and related services. The company provides a variety of heat exchangers, including plate heat exchangers, shell and tube heat exchangers, finned-tube heat exchangers, and refrigeration heat exchangers.
Asvotec Termoindustrial Ltd is a Brazilian metallurgical company founded in 1965 and headquartered in Monte Mor, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The company has a sophisticated factory park specializing in industrial valve products. Asvotec Termoindustrial Ltd engages in the Electricity, Oil & Gas, Energy, Utilities, and Waste industries.
DongHwa Entec Co., Ltd. is a heat exchanger manufacturing and system engineering firm headquartered in Busan, South Korea, serving the power generating, petrochemical, and ship industries since 1980. The company's mission is to grow into one that contributes to a more sustainable society while increasing consumer value. The company aims to solve environmental issues related to energy and create new values for future generations through its eco-energy business.
Vacuum Process Engineering (VPE) is a thermal engineering and manufacturing company that provides metallurgical services. VPE is known for its precision brazing, diffusion bonding, thin film coating, heat treating, and production of precision assemblies. VPE was founded in 1976 and has a history of innovation and reliability.
HRS Heat Exchangers Ltd is a UK-based firm that designs and manufactures unique and effective heat transfer solutions, working at the cutting edge of thermal technology. The company has over 35 years of expertise and offers a comprehensive selection of corrugated tube and scraped surface heat exchangers that conform to the European Pressure Vessel Directive.