Condenser and Reboiler Performance — online
Process condensers, steam surface condensers and reboilers, rated zone by zone — with the back-pressure and lost output a dirty condenser costs.
Yellow cells are inputs; orange cells are choices; blue cells choose the unit. Select or hover over an input to see its help in the box below the toolbar. The sheet is the same as the Excel tool (USD 49) — the Guide, method and references are in the Excel file.
What this condenser and reboiler performance calculator does
A single LMTD can be badly wrong for a condenser. This tool rates it zone by zone. Process condensers, steam surface condensers and reboilers, rated zone by zone — with the back-pressure and lost output a dirty condenser costs.
- Three-zone rating. Desuperheat, condense and subcool (or preheat, boil and superheat), with a weighted MTD and the smallest internal temperature difference.
- Three services. Process condenser, steam surface condenser, or reboiler / vaporiser.
- Pure fluids or mixtures. Pick a fluid from the library, or enter the dew point, bubble point, latent heat and specific heats of a mixture.
- Steam condenser results. TTD, ITD, clean back-pressure, excess back-pressure, lost turbine output and its cost; air-blanketing warning.
- U, fouling and cleanliness. Actual U, fouling resistance, cleanliness and excess area — and how far a single LMTD would be off.
- Charts. Temperature–duty zone diagram and UA by zone, ready to print.
What you enter
- Fluid data
- Fluid
- Inlet state
- Outlet state
- Mass flow
- Inlet temperature
- Outlet temperature
- Inlet pressure (absolute or gauge – pick the unit)
- Outlet pressure
- Inlet vapour fraction (dryness)
- Outlet vapour fraction
- Dew point at the operating pressure
- Bubble point at the operating pressure
- Latent heat (dew → bubble point)
What you get
- Inlet temperature used
- Outlet temperature used
- Inlet phase
- Outlet phase
- Mass flow used
- Enthalpy change (absolute value)
- Duty of the stream
- Heat balance error ÷ average
- Duty as % of the design duty
- Weighted mean temperature difference (zones)
- Single LMTD from the end temperatures (for comparison)
- Smallest temperature difference inside the exchanger
- Overall heat transfer coefficient — actual
- UA (actual)
How it was checked
Steam condenser and toluene reboiler cases within 0.1 % of reference equation-of-state results.
Related
- Free quick calculator — a simpler free version for a fast estimate.
- Calculation guide — the equations behind this tool, with a worked example.
- Condenser and Reboiler Performance Excel tool — USD 49, keep the workbook and its Guide.
- All 40 online tools
Questions
Is the condenser and reboiler performance calculator free?
You can enter and check all your data free. The full results, findings and printable sheet are unlocked with a 3-run pack (USD 9), a monthly subscription to all 40 online tools (USD 15) or a yearly one (USD 99).
Are the results the same as the Excel tool?
Yes. The online tool runs the formulas of the Condenser and Reboiler Performance Excel workbook, checked cell by cell against the Excel file.
Which units can I use?
SI, US customary and British units — choose the unit next to each input.