Method for transferring heat between process liquor streams

摘要

A method of transferring heat between process liquor streams, such as streams of caustic liquor in the Bayer process for producing alumina from bauxite, utilizing a heat pipe arrangement for heat exchange. The process streams respectively pass in contact with one surface of a first heat-exchange wall and one surface of a second heat-exchange wall while being isolated from the second surfaces of the two walls; these second walls are exposed to a closed volume (also isolated from both process streams) containing a heat transfer fluid that vaporizes below the temperature of the hotter process stream and condenses above the temperature of the cooler process stream. The heat transfer fluid vaporizes at the exposed surface of the wall contacted by the hotter stream, and condenses at the exposed surface of the wall contacted by the cooler stream, thereby transferring heat (as heat of vaporization) from the former stream to the latter.