Carbon nanotube-polytetrafluoroethylene nanocomposite coating for milk fouling reduction in plate heat exchanger Original Research Article

Cleaning of milk fouling on plate heat exchanger surface causes intermittent downtime to milk processing industry. Fouling occurrence during milk pasteurization potentially reduces the heat transfer rate of plate heat exchanger (PHE), leading to serious energy deficiency. In this study, the development of milk surface foulant was successfully inhibited by superhydrophobic nanoparticulate coating of PHE surfaces. Full dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) matrix was completed using ultrasonication and high temperature annealing techniques. Nanomorphology and surface structure of PTFE and CNT-PTFE films on stainless steel surface were interpreted by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). To validate the hydrophobicity of the developed CNT-PTFE nanocomposite coated surface, a water contact angle (WCA) using a simplified sessile drop method, correspondent surface energy, foulant mass, and energy efficiency after milk pasteurization were estimated and compared with stainless steel 316 and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated surfaces. Static contact angles for the control, PTFE-coated and CNT-PTFE surfaces increased from 71.2 to 119.6 and 141.1°, respectively. By application of CNT-PTFE nanocomposite coating, the estimated surface energy of heat exchanger surface decreased by 97.0% of its original value. After continuous milk pasteurization for 5 h, the mass of foulant on CNT-PTFE coated heat exchanger surface was 70.3% less than that of the uncoated surface; thus, total energy consumption of test PHE unit also dropped down by 10.2%. Developed CNT-PTFE nanocomposite coated surface will potentially reduce the risk of under-processed milk and decrease the frequency of the routine cleaning-in-place (CIP) program.