TYPES OF EVAPORATOR

TYPES OF EVAPORATOR

Natural/forced circulation evaporator

Natural circulation evaporators are based on the natural circulation of the product caused by the density differences that arise from heating. In an evaporator using tubing, after the water begins to boil, bubbles will rise and cause circulation, facilitating the separation of the liquid and the vapor at the top of the heating tubes. The amount of evaporation that takes place depends on the temperature difference between the steam and the solution.

Problems can arise if the tubes are not well-immersed in the solution. If this occurs, the system will be dried out and circulation compromised. In order to avoid this, forced circulation can be used by inserting a pump to increase pressure and circulation. Forced circulation occurs when hydrostatic head prevents boiling at the heating surface. Common uses of forced circulation evaporators include waste streams, crystallizers, viscous fluids, and other difficult process fluids as suppressed boiling can reduce scaling and fouling.^[5]A pump can also be used to avoid fouling that is caused by the boiling of liquid on the tubes; the pump suppresses bubble formation. Other problems are that the residing time is undefined and the consumption of steam is very high, but at high temperatures, good circulation is easily achieved.

Falling film evaporator

This type of evaporator is generally made of 4–8 m (13–26 ft) tubes enclosed by steam jackets. The uniform distribution of the solution is important when using this type of evaporator. The solution enters and gains velocity as it flows downward. This gain in velocity is attributed to the vapor being evolved against the heating medium, which flows downward as well. This evaporator is usually applied to highly viscous solutions, so it is frequently used in the chemical,sugar, food, and fermentation industries.

Rising film (Long Tube Vertical) evaporator

A rising film evaporator

In this type of evaporator, boiling takes place inside the tubes, due to heating made (usually by steam) outside the same. Submergence is therefore not desired; the creation of water vapor bubbles inside the tube creates an ascensional flow enhancing the heat transfer coefficient. This type of evaporator is therefore quite efficient, the disadvantage being to be prone to quick scaling of the internal surface of the tubes. This design is then usually applied to clear, non-salting solutions. Tubes are usually quite long, typically 4+ meters (13+ ft). Sometimes a small recycle is provided. Sizing this type of evaporator is usually a delicate task, since it requires a precise evaluation of the actual level of the process liquor inside the tubes. Recent applications tend to favor the falling-film pattern rather than rising-film.and also it is very useful.

Climbing and falling-film plate evaporator

Climbing and falling-film plate evaporators have a relatively large surface area. The plates are usually corrugated and are supported by frame. During evaporation, steam flows through the channels formed by the free spaces between the plates. The steam alternately climbs and falls parallel to the concentrated liquid. The steam follows a co-current, counter-current path in relation to the liquid. The concentrate and the vapor are both fed into the separation stage where the vapor is sent to a condenser. This type of plate evaporator is frequently applied in the dairy and fermentation industries since they have spatial flexibility. A negative point of this type of evaporator is that it is limited in its ability to treat viscous or solid-containing products. There are other types of plate evaporators, which work with only climbing film.

Multiple-effect evaporators

Unlike single-stage evaporators, these evaporators can be composed of up to seven evaporator stages (effects). The energy consumption for single-effect evaporators is very high and is most of the cost for an evaporation system. Putting together evaporators saves heat and thus requires less energy. Adding one evaporator to the original decreases energy consumption to 50%. Adding another effect reduces it to 33% and so on. A heat-saving-percent equation can be used to estimate how much one will save by adding a certain number of effects.

The number of effects in a multiple-effect evaporator is usually restricted to seven because after that, the equipment cost approaches the cost savings of the energy-requirement drop.

There are two types of feeding that can be used when dealing with multiple-effect evaporators. Forward feeding takes place when the product enters the system through the first effect, which is at the highest temperature. The product is then partially concentrated as some of the water is transformed into vapor and carried away. It is then fed into the second effect which is slightly lower in temperature. The second effect uses the heated vapor created in the first stage as its heat source (hence the saving in energy expenditure). The combination of lower temperatures and higher viscosities in subsequent effects provides good conditions for treating heat-sensitive products, such as enzymes and proteins. In this system, an increase in the heating surface area of subsequent effects is required.

Another method is using backward feeding. In this process, the dilute products are fed into the last effect which has the lowest temperature and are transferred from effect to effect, with the temperature increasing. The final concentrate is collected in the hottest effect, which provides an advantage in that the product is highly viscous in the last stages, and so the heat transfer is better. In recent years, multiple-effect vacuum evaporator(with heatpump) systems have come into use. These are well known to be energetically and technically more effective than systems with mechanical vapor recompression (MVR). Due to the lower boiling temperature they can handle highly corrosive liquids or liquids which are prone to forming incrustations.^[6]

Agitated Thin / Wiped Film Evaporator Diagram

Agitated thin film evaporators

Agitated thin-film evaporation has been very successful with difficult-to-handle products. Simply stated, the method quickly separates the volatile from the less volatile components using indirect heat transfer and mechanical agitation of the flowing product film under controlled conditions. The separation is normally made under vacuum conditions to maximize ∆T while maintaining the most favorable product temperature so that the product only sees equilibrium conditions inside the evaporator and can maximize volatile stripping and recovery.^[7]

Problems

Technical problems can arise during evaporation, especially when the process is applied to the food industry. Some evaporators are sensitive to differences in viscosity and consistency of the dilute solution. These evaporators could work inefficiently because of a loss of circulation. The pump of an evaporator may need to be changed if the evaporator needs to be used to concentrate a highly viscous solution.

Fouling also occurs when hard deposits form on the surfaces of the heating mediums in the evaporators. In foods, proteins and polysaccharides can create such deposits that reduce the efficiency of heat transfer. Foaming can also create a problem since dealing with the excess foam can be costly in time and efficiency. Antifoam agents are to be used, but only a few can be used when food is being processed.

Corrosion can also occur when acidic solutions such as citrus juices are concentrated. The surface damage caused can shorten the long-life of evaporators. Quality and flavor of food can also suffer during evaporation. Overall, when choosing an evaporator, the qualities of the product solution need to be taken into careful consideration.

Marine use[edit]

Large ships usually carry evaporating plants to produce fresh water, thus reducing their reliance on shore-based supplies. Steam ships must be able to produce high-quality distillate in order to maintain boiler-water levels. Diesel-engined ships often utilise waste heat as an energy source for producing fresh water. In this system, the engine-cooling water is passed through a heat exchanger, where it is cooled by concentrated seawater (brine). Because the cooling water (which is chemically treated fresh water) is at a temperature of 70–80 °C (158–176 °F), it would not be possible to flash off any water vapour unless the pressure in the heat exhanger vessel was dropped.

To alleviate this problem, a brine-air ejector venturi pump is used to create a vacuum inside the vessel. Partial evaporation is achieved, and the vapour passes through a demisterbefore reaching the condenser section. Seawater is pumped through the condenser section to cool the vapour sufficiently to precipitate it. The distillate gathers in a tray, from where it is pumped to the storage tanks. A salinometer monitors salt content and diverts the flow of distillate from the storage tanks if the salt content exceeds the alarm limit. Sterilisation is carried out after the evaporator.

Evaporators are usually of the shell-and-tube type (known as an Atlas Plant) or of the plate type (such as the type designed by Alfa Laval). Temperature, production and vacuum are controlled by regulating the system valves. Seawater temperature can interfere with production, as can fluctuations in engine load. For this reason, the evaporator is adjusted as seawater temperature changes, and shut down altogether when the ship is manoeuvring. An alternative in some vessels, such as naval ships and passenger ships, is the use of the reverse osmosis principle for fresh-water production, instead of using evaporators.

REFERENCES

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporator

From Youtube, source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVsFpK_P6es