Sanitary Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Enerquip is a trusted leader in stainless steel sanitary heat exchangers, serving the food, beverage, dairy, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. Known for their durability and cleanability, our shell and tube heat exchangers are designed to meet the strictest sanitary standards and regulatory requirements.
Whether you need a stock unit or a fully custom solution, our team delivers heat exchangers built for performance, reliability, and peace of mind.
In-Stock Sanitary Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Enerquip stocks a variety of sanitary steam heaters for quick shipment. Their features include:
- 304L or 316L stainless steel material for sanitary considerations and resistance to corrosion
- Built to TEMA Class C
- ASME hydro-tested with code stamp
- Capable of heating low-fouling fluids
- Process side installed with sanitary tri-clamp connections for easy installation
- U-tube design allows for thermal expansion
- O-rings and tube bundles are removable and replaceable
- Sizes range from 4″ x 36″ to 10″ x 54″
- Heat exchangers can be upgraded to meet the current 3-A Sanitary Standards
Learn more about our in-stock sanitary heat exchangers.
Standard Sanitary Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Design
Our standard sanitary design includes the following features:
- 304L tube side material
- Welded, bright annealed tubing
- 40Ra exterior finish
Custom Upgrades to Enerquip’s Sanitary Shell and Tube Exchangers
The following custom upgrades are available to support your specific process needs:
- 316L stainless steel materials (product or utility side)
- 3-A, including 316L stainless steel seamless tubes polished to 32Ra
- Welded tube-to-tube sheet joints
- Insulation jackets free of chloride and asbestos
- Choice of vertical mounting supports or horizontal saddles
- Sight glasses, vacuum breakers, level gauge ports
- ASME flanged connections, NPT threaded, or sanitary Tri-clamp
- Double tube sheets
- Expansion joints or floating tube sheets to aid in thermal expansion protection
- Passivation and electropolished product contact surfaces
- Davit arms (commonly used with heavy bonnet designs)
- Condensate collection sumps/chambers
Other Custom Configurations
In addition to standard shell and tube heat exchangers, we also build custom the following designs:
- Hairpin
- Tube-in-Tube
- Finned Tube
Design Requirements for Sanitary Heat Exchangers
Depending on the application, design specifications may have special requirements, including:
- Seal welding of tube-to-tube sheet joints
- Sanitary tri-clamp fittings
- Polished surfaces
- Manufactured to meet 3-A Sanitary Standards
- PTFE, Viton©, Gylon, or other gasket materials
- Clean-in-place design
- ASME BPE compliant
- ASME BPE sanitary fittings
Applications of Sanitary Heat Exchangers
Sanitary heat exchangers are commonly found in the food, beverage, personal and pet care, pharmaceutical, and dairy industries. In most of these industries, a sanitary heat exchanger can eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of microbial activity. This process keeps goods safe, reduces the risk of spoilage, and meets regulatory requirements.
Sanitary heat exchangers can be used at various stages of production, including processing, filling, drying, and concentration. Heat exchangers can be used on products of varying viscosities, making them a versatile solution for temperature control.
Common industry applications of sanitary shell and tube heat exchangers include:
- Refrigeration
- Power plants
- Heating and air conditioning systems
- Food processing systems
- Chemical processing systems
- Pharmaceuticals manufacturing
- Waste heat recovery
Common process applications that use shell and tube exchangers include:
- Clean-in-Place
- Cheese and milk pasteurization
- Beer cooling and beer wort heating
- Beverage pasteurization
- Ultra-high temperature sterilization
- Fruit juice pasteurization
- Bottled water treatment
- Liquid egg processing
- Ketchup and mustard cooling and heating
- Heating of starches, soups, and sauces
- Steam generation
Advantages of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Shell and tube heat exchangers are highly versatile, with endless options for sizing and configuration. This flexibility makes them a smart choice across a wide range of industries and applications. Here are some key advantages:
- Compact Design: Their often small footprint frees up valuable space on the production floor and helps prevent heat pockets that could damage nearby electrical components.
- Energy Efficient: Unlike some systems, these exchangers don’t require extra equipment to run, which means lower energy consumption and a smaller environmental impact.
- Lower Operating Costs: Fewer components mean fewer things to maintain—resulting in long-term savings.
- Handles Tough Materials: Well-suited for processing fiber-rich or particulate-laden products.
- Built for Performance: Designed to handle high pressures and elevated temperatures with ease.
- Easy Maintenance: Simple to inspect and disassemble for cleaning or service.
- Sanitary Ready: Excellent choice for aseptic processes, offering high levels of security and cleanliness.
- Fully Customizable: Built to match your exact application and process needs.
Sanitary Shell and Tube Standards
Enerquip has been designing and fabricating sanitary and industrial heat exchangers since 1985. All of our equipment is proudly made in the USA, giving our customers peace of mind when it comes to supply chain reliability. While our manufacturing is based stateside, our reputation for quality has earned us loyal customers around the globe.
TEMA Standard
When it comes to sanitary shell and tube heat exchangers, we pride ourselves on meeting the standards established by the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (TEMA). This includes all the steps involved in manufacturing and testing. The TEMA Standard allow our products to provide excellent consistency and long-term reliability. Specifically, our heat exchangers meet TEMA classes B, C, and R depending on application and customization.
3-A Sanitary Standards
We are one of the few sanitary shell and tube heat exchanger manufacturers who are certified to build heat exchangers that meet the 3-A Sanitary Standards. This allows us to work with food and dairy clients that most manufacturers can’t.
Past Sanitary Heat Exchanger Projects
