Fabrication and Joining of Ceramic Compact Heat Exchangers for Process Integration

Many energy conversion systems use thermal processes to convert chemical energy to mechanical or electrical energy. There are also many industrial processes performed at high temperature that produce excess heat. In both of these situations, heat exchangers can be used to recover thermal energy and make the processes more energy efficient. The more heat that can be recovered, the more efficient the process will be, so there is a strong demand for heat exchangers that operate at as high a temperature as possible. Ceramic heat exchangers permit operation at higher temperatures than with other materials. Additionally, compact heat exchangers are highly efficient and cost‐effective. This paper will describe principles of design, methods of fabrication, and joining methods for ceramic compact heat exchangers for integration of such heat exchangers into practical applications.