ChE 156

Unit Operations Laboratory II

Air Cooled
Condenser

ChE 156 – 1L: Group 1

Air Cooled Condenser
• One of the equipment used to
transform gas/vapour to liquid.
• Removal of latent heat of the
vapour which causes the
condensation and transferring it to
the cooling air (McCabe, 1993)
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• Heat transfer is the underlying
principle of the process
• Heat transfer is maximized by
maximizing the contact time and
contact area
 Types of Condensers

I. Based on the means of condensation

II. Based on the cooling fluid used
 Based on the means of condensation
Contact Condensers
• The coolant and process fluid have contact and
physically mixed, possibly leaving the condenser as a
single stream
• It has the advantage of low cost and simplicity of
mechanical design
• Restricted to those applications in which mixing of the
vapor and coolant is permissible
Shell and Tube Condensers
• The coolant and the process fluid are separated by the
tubes and do not have contact to each other
• Need to be very long at high temperature gradient
• Commonly used at the industry due to high capacity
• Costly due to materials and design

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Based on the cooling fluid used
Air cooled Water cooled
• Located on the outside of the • Most efficient yet pricey due to the water used.
unit and provides easiest
• Cooling tower is used to conserve water.
arrangement.
• Harder to clean due to possible algal or microbial
• Ejects heat to the outdoors.
growth and corrosion
• Very easy to clean since dust
is the common problem

Evaporative
• Least popular but used in areas where water is
scarce and air temperature does not match the
required temperature for an air cooled condenser.
• Operates at low condensation temperatures.
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• Effective but not that efficient.
 RELEVANT EQUATIONS

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Latent Heat (QL) 𝑸𝑳 = 𝒎𝝀
Where:

m – mass flowrate of stream

λ – latent heat of condensation

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Sensible Heat (QS) 𝑸𝑺 = 𝒎𝑪𝒑𝚫𝑻
Where:

m – mass flowrate of stream

Cp – specific heat of the liquid or gas
∆T – temperature difference

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Total Heat (Qc) 𝑸𝒄
= 𝒎𝒔𝝀𝒔 + 𝒎𝒔𝑪𝒑𝒘𝚫𝑻𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈
Where:

Qc – total heat transferred to the condenser

ms – mass of stream
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λs – latent heat of condensation
Cp – heat capacity of water
∆Tsubcooling – temperature difference involved in
Overall Heat Transfer
Coefficient (Uc) 𝒒𝒄
𝑼𝒄 =
𝑨𝒄𝚫𝑻𝒍𝒎
Where:

qc – rate of heat transfer in the condenser = Qt/t

∆Tlm – log mean total temperature driving force
Ac – overall heat transfer area of condenser
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Log Mean
Temperature

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Overall heat
transfer coefficient
for boiler

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Film coefficient
based on inside
surface

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Film coefficient
based on outside
surface

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Fin Efficiency

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Design Overall heat
transfer coefficient
for air cooled
condenser

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 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXPERIMENT

How to operate a laboratory-scale air-cooled condenser

Determination of the effect of the actual overall heat

transfer coefficient on the equipment design, in term of
tank volume, feed flow rates and air velocities

How to increase the condensate/distillate water produced

by varying the significant parameters derived from
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 OBJECTIVES

• Compare the actual overall heat transfer coefficient with the

design/theoretical heat transfer coefficient for both boiler and
condenser
• Determine the actual amount of condensate/distillate and compare
it with the design value
• Determine the effect of changing air velocity to the actual heat
transfer coefficient of the condenser and to the amount of distillate
produced
• Calculate the efficiency of heat transfer from condenser to air
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 MATERIALS
o Thermometer
o Graduated cylinder
o Beaker
o Anemometer
o Timer
o Boiler with steel air-cooled
condenser
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 METHODOLOGY

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 METHODOLOGY

1. The boiler is to be filled with water up to the indicated mark,

approximately half of the boiler.
2. Burner is to be opened and fired. (Vent on the top of the boiler is to
be closed for the non-condensable materials to escape.)
3. When there is a sign of vapor, the fan is to be turned on and set to
the lowest setting.
4. It is then allowed to attain steady state for 5 mins and the remaining
condensate is to be removed.
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 METHODOLOGY

5. The distillate outlet is to kept opened and the condensate is to be

collected.
6. The distillate temperature is then determined every 2 mins for 20
mins.
7. The temperature of outlet air is also to be determined after boiling.
8. Two trials is to be done for each fan setting. (1-increasing, 2-
decreasing)
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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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 SAMPLE CALCULATIONS

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32 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
33 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
34 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
35 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
36 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
37 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
38 ADD A FOOTER MM.DD.20XX
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

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 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

1. A built-in fan should be installed in the equipment instead of

using a stand fan.
2. The sides of the equipment should be covered properly instead
of using newspapers.
3. The condensate outlet must be covered to prevent
contamination.
4. There should be a temperature reader at the condensate outlet
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 REFERENCES
1. Air cooled condensers. (2018). Retrieved March 16, 2019 from SPX Dry Cooling:
https://spxdrycooling.com/products/air-cooled-condenser
2. FAMULARCANO, J.R., (2002). Performance evaluation of a modified boiler for a gas-fired
distilling apparatus with an air-cooled steel condenser. Undergraduate Thesis, CEAT, UPLB.
3. GEANKOPLIS, C. J. (1993). Transport processes and unit operations. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
International, Inc.
4. MCCABE, W.L., SMITH, J.C., & HARRIOT, P. (1993). Unit operations of chemical engineering.
Singapore: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
5. PERRY, R. H. & GREEN, D. W. (1997). Perry’s chemical engineers’ handbook (7th edition). New
York: McGraw-Hill
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THANK YOU!