Generally, plate heat exchangers are mainly distinguished by their structure, that is, by their appearance, which can be divided into four main categories:

(1) Detachable plate heat exchanger (also called plate heat exchanger with sealing gasket),

(2) Welded plate heat exchangers,

(3) Spiral plate heat exchangers,

(4) Plate-coil heat exchanger (also called honeycomb heat exchanger). 

Among them, welded plate heat exchangers are further divided into: semi-welded plate heat exchangers, fully welded plate heat exchangers, shell-plate heat exchangers, and brazed plate heat exchangers. Other commonly used categories include: 

1 According to the heat exchange area within a unit space, plate heat exchangers are compact heat exchangers, mainly compared to shell-and-tube heat exchangers, which occupy a larger area. 

2. Depending on the process application, there are different names: plate heater, plate cooler, plate condenser, plate preheater;

 3. According to process combinations, they are divided into single-pass plate heat exchangers and multi-pass plate heat exchangers;

 4. According to the flow direction of the two types of media, they are divided into parallel (parallel) plate heat exchangers, countercurrent plate heat exchangers, and cross-flow (cross-flow) plate heat exchangers, with the latter two being more commonly used;

 5. According to the gap size of the flow channel, they are divided into conventional gap plate heat exchangers and wide gap plate heat exchangers;

 6 According to corrugation, plate heat exchangers have more detailed distinctions and will not be repeated here. Please refer to: Corrugated plate patterns of plate heat exchangers.

 7. According to whether it is a complete set, it can be divided into single-unit plate heat exchangers and plate heat exchanger units.