Frequently asked questions

Some questions regarding gaskets and plate heat exchangers:

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Plate exchanger cleaning depends on many factors such as type of fluid, gas operating temperature, flow rate, temperature differential, solids or fat content, etc.

It is very important that the cleaning of your plate heat exchanger is carried out by an expert company with field engineers specialising in exchanger cleaning.

Please note that dirt on plate heat exchangers greatly affects their thermal performance and pumping performance.

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There is no fixed rule on how often plate heat exchanger gaskets should be replaced. Factors such as the quality of the factory gasket, temperature, product, type of plate have an influence.

The important thing is not to damage the package of plates by excessive tightening and not to allow the gaskets to crystallise as they can distort the plate grooves.

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We are experts in the maintenance and repair of plate heat exchangers and are able to perform the following jobs:

  • On-site inspection and cleaning of your PHE.
  • Fluorescein integrity testing
  • Watertightness and pressure testing for your plate heat exchangers
  • Tightening of a plate heat exchanger
  • Plate heat exchanger gasket manufacturer
  • Heat exchanger maintenance
  • Chemical cleaning of the plates
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Each manufacturer applies its own criteria.

Do not exceed the limit indicated in your machine documentation.

If you do not know it, contact us and we will proceed to advise you on all your heat exchanger queries.

Exceeding the tightening limit implies a high risk of irreversibly damaging the plate assembly.

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Laygo plate heat exchanger gaskets are compatible with: Alfa Laval, APV, Fischer, Gea Ecoflex, Junkers, Tranter, Chester Jensen, SWEP, Schmidt Bretten, Sondex, AGC Engineering, Reheat, Rosenblads, Vicarb, Stork – Pierre Guerin.

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When you change the gaskets of the plate exchanger with the recommended frequency, you are ensuring a long life for your machine. If the gaskets become hardened, you run a high risk of irreversible damage to the set of plates.

You can see for yourself with our plate heat exchanger gaskets – you get high performance from them and, by extension, greater durability for your machine.

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Plate heat exchangers can withstand a temperature of up to 180°C in most fields of application, although applications with working temperatures above 220°C can even be found.

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EPDM gaskets are perfect for hot water, steam, low-fat dairy products, juices, beer, cleaning products, etc.

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Principally, you will find that you are dealing directly with the manufacturer of the exchanger gaskets, with the degree of specialisation involved. You will also find that the quality is better, as well as generally being cheaper.

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Plate heat exchanger gaskets can be manufactured in different rubber qualities, for example: NBR, EPDM, HNBR, Chloroprene, FPM, FPM, CSM, etc.

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The plate heat exchanger will notice a decrease in thermal efficiency and a loss of charge. As a result, energy costs are higher, as more energy must be added to the process.

In the same way, dirt and incrustations narrow the passage between plates, which means a higher cost in pumping and, in the same way, a higher economic cost.

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Pasteurization consists of the thermal treatment of the means (normally food fluids) for the elimination of the bacteria they contain.

This pasteurisation process can be carried out with multi-section plate heat exchangers as well as tubular heat exchangers.

The advantages of performing the pasteurization process with plate heat exchangers lie in:

  • Lower initial investment
  • Reduced consumption of auxiliaries (steam, glycol, etc.)
  • Less space needed for installation

The food fluids on which the plate pasteurization process is carried out are very varied: Milk and all kinds of dairy products, beer, all kinds of juices – orange, apple, pear, tomato, carbonated drinks, etc.

A distinction must be made between pasteurization and sterilization. When pasteurising e.g. milk for cheese, the milk is pasteurised at 72-75°C while sterilization uses higher temperatures (UHT milk – Ultra High Temperature – at 143°C).

In both cases (pasteurization – sterilization) plate heat exchangers of several sections are used, always emphasising the use of regenerative sections or heat recovery devices (the cold fluid is preheated with the already pasteurised salient product) where thermal efficiencies of up to 97% can be achieved.

Laygo gaskets offers a wide variety of solutions in plate heat exchangers for pasteurization as well as high performance Laygo(r) gaskets in the aforementioned applications.

Our technical department will advise you on the appropriate elastomer for your pasteurization or sterilization process.

Yes. Thanks to the work of our R&D laboratory, we have developed our own formulations that allow us to manufacture gaskets adapted to the requirements and technical specifications of our customers.

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Laygo gaskets is the only worldwide manufacturer of Plate Heat Exchanger gaskets that performs the 100% rubber vulcanisation process on the press.

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NBR gaskets are suitable for water/water applications, food products (milk, beer, juices, liqueurs), vegetable oils, mineral oils, gentle cleaning, etc.

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Plate heat exchangers are used in numerous industrial applications with many advantages:Maritime industry, food industry, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics industry, nuclear power plants, heating and cooling, etc.

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The quality you require for your plate heat exchanger gaskets depends on several factors such as the nature of the product, temperature and characteristics of the cleaning solutions if CIP is performed. Laygo gaskets offers a variety of qualities for its elastomers. Contact us and ask us about your heat exchanger needs. We have advanced laboratory methods available to recommend the seal quality that best suits your process.

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Carrying out heat exchanger maintenance, cleaning or repair work ensures you:

  • Increased heat exchange – performance.
  • Reduced pressure drop.
  • Increased safety for people.
  • Ensures no mixing of fluids.
  • Your facility will be maintained and documented.
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This is a process by which, applying pressure and temperature to the elastomer mixture over an interval of time, a connection between the links is produced at molecular level (“crosslinking”).

If this process is done adequately, it ensures a high quality in the elastomers At Laygo gaskets, this process is carried out with scrupulous care.

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A plate heat exchanger is a type of heat exchanger that uses metal plates to transfer heat between two fluids.

It is formed by thin corrugated metal plates (stainless steel or titanium normally), achieving watertightness by means of rubber or welded gaskets.

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Our plate heat exchanger gaskets offer a 12-month guarantee against manufacturing defects.

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This test differs from the fluorescein version especially in the need to completely empty the heat exchanger before the test.

For single-section and single-stage heat exchangers, draining does not require opening, so gas testing is particularly suitable.

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The working temperature ranges from -40 to 160°C.

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This test allows a control of the non-contamination by sections in the sets of plates of your heat exchangers, without having to proceed to their opening.

This procedure allows you to easily carry out preventive maintenance that complies with the latest European directives and that protects you from the costs and problems that contamination of your products would entail.