Regeneration & Interchange

Run the energy cost at several efficiency levels against the extra plates each one needs. Higher regeneration cuts both heating and cooling load, but each added point takes more surface than the last, and the product spends longer in the exchanger and sees more pressure drop. The right point is usually where the marginal plate stops paying inside your payback window.

Viscosity on the raw side is highest at the cold inlet, so pressure drop in the regeneration section climbs fast as plates are added in series. Because the pasteurized side must stay above the raw side, any extra drop feeds straight into the pump and pressure arrangement. On thick products the practical regeneration figure is often set by pressure limits rather than by energy.

At startup there is no hot product leaving yet, so the heating section has to carry the full rise untill the loop fills. On a flow diversion, product returns to the balance tank and the regeneration section sees altered flows on both sides. Size the heating section and its controls for those transients, not just for steady running with regeneration fully established.

Direct product-to-product gives the best recovery, since there is only one approach between the streams. A water intermediate loop costs a second approach but keeps raw and pasteurized product apart entirely, which some processors prefer where cross contamination would be serious. Tell us which arrangement your regulatory plan expects before the plates are sized.