Polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger with twisted tubes

Abstract

Polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchangers with twisted tubes are provided. The heat exchanger may include one or more polymeric tube bundles, wherein each of the one or more polymeric tube bundles includes at least one tube twisted about its length or at least one pair of tubes twisted or wound around each other. The presently disclosed polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchangers with twisted tubes may be especially suited for applications where the use of polymer tubes offers advantages, such as in the case of acid solutions, food and beverage fluids, and carbon capture applications where the use of metal heat exchangers destroy the amines used for capture.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger with twisted tubes, the heat exchanger comprising:
 one or more polymeric tube bundles, each of the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprising two or more twisted tubes, each twisted tube comprising a tubular wall and a passage inside the tubular wall configured for a first fluid to flow through, each twisted tube being twisted about its respective length, each of the one or more polymeric tube bundles configured for a second fluid to pass through open space between the two or more twisted tubes, each tube being twisted to generate flow direction changes for the first fluid and/or the second fluid, wherein at least one of two or more twisted tubes comprises one or more ribs extending from the tubular wall and the one or more ribs being twisted about its length.   
     
     
         2 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more ribs extend outward from an outer surface of the tubular wall, wherein dimensions of the one or more ribs are selected for the second fluid to bypass through the open space between the two or more twisted tubes. 
     
     
         3 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more ribs extend inward from an inner surface of the tubular wall, wherein dimensions of the one or more ribs are selected for the first fluid to bypass through the open space between the two or more twisted tubes. 
     
     
         4 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , further comprising an outer wrap disposed around the one or more polymeric tube bundles, the outer wrap configured to control bypass of the second fluid between the twisted tubes. 
     
     
         5 . A heat exchanger according to  claim 4 , wherein the outer wrap is configured to tighten the one or more polymeric tube bundles to enable tube configurations to provide non-uniform spacing between the twisted tubes. 
     
     
         6 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 4 , further comprising a housing disposed outside the one or more polymeric tube bundles. 
     
     
         7 . A heat exchanger according to  claim 6 , wherein the outer wrap is configured to tighten the one or more polymeric tube bundles to enable tube configurations to reduce space between the housing and the one or more polymeric tube bundles. 
     
     
         8 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles have a fixed length. 
     
     
         9 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise a plurality of non-circular tubes, each non-circular tube twisted about its respective length. 
     
     
         10 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise an elliptical tube twisted about its respective length. 
     
     
         11 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise a peanut-shaped twisted tube twisted about its respective length. 
     
     
         12 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise a polygon twisted tube twisted about its respective length. 
     
     
         13 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise a petal twisted tube twisted about its respective length. 
     
     
         14 . A polymeric tube-in-shell heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polymeric tube bundles comprise a lobed twisted tube twisted about its respective length.