How Does a Cargo Discharge Cooler Work?

In the field of ships, especially LNG tankers, it is a device that cools the liquid in the cargo discharge system, and condenses the saturated water and other liquids by cooling them, so as to realize the function of reusing the feed water, etc., as mentioned earlier, which helps to improve the efficiency of the system and reduce the waste of resources.

Heat exchange process: There are usually two fluid channels inside the cargo discharge cooler, one is the cargo discharge fluid channel to be cooled, and the other is the cooling medium channel. As the hot cargo discharge fluid flows through the cooler, it exchanges heat with the cooling medium through the heat exchanger walls. The cooling medium is generally a liquid or gas with a lower temperature, such as seawater, fresh water or air. According to the principle of heat conduction, heat will be transferred from the high temperature cargo discharge fluid to the low temperature cooling medium, thus lowering the temperature of the cargo discharge fluid for the purpose of cooling.

Phase Change Heat (if any): In some cases, a cargo discharge cooler may utilize a phase change in the cooling medium to enhance cooling. For example, when the cooling medium is water, the water may vaporize after absorbing heat, changing from a liquid to a gas. This phase change process absorbs a significant amount of heat, thereby reducing the temperature of the cargo discharge fluid more effectively. This use of phase change for cooling improves the cooling efficiency and performance of the cooler.

Flow and Temperature Control: To ensure proper operation and cooling effectiveness of a cargo discharge cooler, it is often equipped with a flow and temperature control system. By adjusting the flow rate of the cooling medium, the cooling capacity of the cooler can be controlled to adapt to different cargo discharge flow rates and temperature requirements. At the same time, the temperature sensor will monitor the temperature of cargo discharge fluid and cooling medium in real time, and feed the signal back to the control system, so as to adjust the operating parameters of the cooler in time to ensure the stability and reliability of the cooling effect.