Plate heat exchangers in liquid-crystal polymers

Abstract A new concept for a liquid-liquid plate heat exchanger has been studied using thermoplastic polymers. Considering their advantages, polymers called LCP ‘liquid crystal polymers’, have been developed in the laboratory from a base formulation of pure LCP (SPER1) to improved formulations (SPER12) using fillers as silica powder, glass and carbon fibres. A fully aromatic structure (SPER12FA) and a modified fully aromatic structure (SPER12IA) were also developed and synthesized. Corrosion and mechanical tests in the laboratory with a selected LCP (SPER12IA) have shown a relatively low chemical resistance and high mechanical resistance in comparison with commercial LCP Vectra. Thermal tests have shown a relatively low level of the heat-transfer coefficient.