Evaporator

Within a downstream processing system, several stages are used to further isolate and purify
the desired product. The overall structure of the process includes pre-treatment, solid-
liquid separation, concentration, and purification and formulation. Evaporation
falls into the concentration stage of downstream processing and is widely used to
concentrate foods, chemicals, and salvage solvents. The goal of evaporation is to
vaporize most of the water from a solution containing a desired product. After initial
pre-treatment and separation, a solution often contains over 85% water. This is not
suitable for industry usage because of the cost associated with processing such a large
quantity of solution, such as the need for larger equipment.

Water can be removed from solutions in ways other than evaporation, including membrane
processes, liquid-liquid extractions, crystallization, and precipitation. Evaporation can be
distinguished from some other drying methods in that the final product of evaporation is a
concentrated liquid, not a solid. It is also relatively simple to use and understand since it has
been widely used on a large scale. In order to concentrate a product by water removal, an
auxiliary phase is used which allows for easy transport of the solvent (water) rather than the
solute. Water vapor is used as the auxiliary phase when concentrating non-volatile
components, such as proteins and sugars. Heat is added to the solution and part of the solvent
is converted into vapor. Heat is the main tool in evaporation, and the process occurs more
readily at high temperature and low pressures.

Heat is needed to provide enough energy for the molecules of the solvent to leave the solution
and move into the air surrounding the solution. The energy needed can be expressed as an
excess thermodynamic potential of the water in the solution. Leading to one of the biggest
problems in industrial evaporation, the process requires enough energy to remove the water
from the solution and to supply the heat of evaporation. When removing the water, more than
99% of the energy needed goes towards supplying the heat of evaporation. The need to
overcome the surface tension of the solution also requires energy. The energy requirement of
this process is very high because a phase transition must be caused; the water must go from a
liquid to a vapor.

When designing evaporators, engineers must quantify the amount of steam needed for every
mass unit of water removed when a concentration is given. An energy balance must be used
based on an assumption that a negligible amount of heat is lost to the system’s surroundings.
The heat that needs to be supplied by the condensing steam will approximately equal the heat
needed to heat and vaporize the water. Another consideration is the size of the heat exchanger
which affects the heat transfer rate.

A = heat transfer area

q = overall heat transfer rate

How an evaporator works

The solution containing the desired product is fed into the evaporator and passes a heat
source. The applied heat converts the water in the solution into vapor. The vapor is removed
from the rest of the solution and is condensed while the now concentrated solution is either
fed into a second evaporator or is removed. The evaporator as a machine generally consists of
four sections. The heating section contains the heating medium, which can vary. Steam is fed
into this section. The most common medium consists of parallel tubes but others have plates
or coils. The concentrating and separating section removes the vapor being produced from the
solution. The condenser condenses the separated vapor, then the vacuum or pump provides
pressure to increase circulation.

Rising film (Long Tube Vertical) 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 (4+ meters); 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 this one.

Applications

The goal of evaporation is to concentrate a target liquid, and this needs to be achieved for
many different targets today. One of the most important applications of evaporation is that on
the food and drink industry. Many foods that are made to last for a considerable amount of
time or food that needs a certain consistency, like coffee, need to go through an evaporation
step during processing. It is also used as a drying process and can be applied in this way to
laboratories where preservation of long-term activity or stabilization is needed (for enzymes
for example). Evaporation is also used in order to recover expensive solvents such as hexane
which would otherwise be wasted. Another example of evaporation is in the recovery of
sodium hydroxide in kraft pulping.[1] Cutting down waste handling cost is another major
application of evaporation for large companies. Legally, all producers of waste must dispose
of the waste in a methods that abides by environmental guidelines; these methods are costly.
If up to 98% of a wastes can be vaporized, industry can greatly reduce the amount of money
that would otherwise be allocated towards waste handling.

Problems

Technical problems can arise during evaporations, 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 heavy consideration.
Marine Use

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 sea water (brine). Because the
cooling water (which is chemically treated fresh water) is at a temperature of 70-80 degrees
C, 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 is used to
create a vacuum inside the vessel. Partial evaporation is achieved and the vapour passes
through a demister before reaching the condenser section. Sea water 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. Sea
water 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 evaporators.

Falling Film Evaporators

A falling film evaporator is an industrial device to concentrate solutions, especially with

heat sensitive components. The evaporator is a special type of heat exchanger.
In general evaporation takes place inside vertical tubes, but there are also applications where
the process fluid evaporates on the outside of horizontal or vertical tubes. In all cases, the
process fluid to be evaporated flows downwards by gravity as a continuous film. The fluid
will create a film along the tube walls, progressing downwards (falling) - hence the name.
The fluid distributor has to be designed carefully in order to maintain an even liquid
distribution for all tubes along which the solution falls.

In the majority of applications the heating medium is placed on the outside of the tubes. High
heat transfer coefficients are required in order to achieve equally balanced heat transfer
resistances. Therefore, condensing steam is commonly used as a heating medium.

For internally evaporating fluids, separation between the liquid phase (the solution) and the
gaseous phase takes place inside the tubes. In order to maintain conservation of mass as this
process proceeds, the downward vapor velocity downwards increases, increasing the shear
force acting on the liquid film and therefore also the velocity of the solution. The result can be
a high film velocity of a progressively thinner film resulting in increasingly turbulent flow.
The combination of these effects allows very high heat transfer coefficients.

The heat transfer coefficient on the evaporating side of the tube is mostly determined by the
hydrodynamic flow conditions of the film. For low massflows or high viscosities the film
flow can be laminar, in which case heat transfer is controlled purely by conduction through
the film. Therefore in this condition the heat transfer coefficient decreases with increased
mass flow. With increased mass flow the film becomes wavy laminar and then turbulent.
Under turbulent conditions the heat transfer coefficient increases with increased flow.
Evaporation takes place at very low mean temperature differences between heating medium
and process stream, typically between 3 - 6K, therefore these devices are ideal for heat
recovery in multi stage processes[1] [2] A further advantage of the falling film evaporator is the
very short residence time of the liquid and the absence of superheating of the same. Not
considering the vapour separator, the residence time inside the tubes is measured in seconds,
making it ideal for heat-sensitive product such as milk, fruit juice, pharmaceuticals and many
others. Falling Film Evaporators are also characterised by very low pressure drops. Therefore
they are often used in deep vacuum applications.

Falling Film Evaporators

• The feed gets distributed and thin film is formed

• Hold up and residence time is short hence liquid does not get overheated

In Falling film evaporators, feed solution forms a film in the evaporator tubes & gets
evaporated. These are best suited for heat sensitive materials such as fruit juices. The hold up
time is short & liquid doesn't get overheated. Falling film evaporators are not suitable for
crystallizing liquids. They are not suitable for salting & severely scaling liquids or solutions.

Rising Film Evaporators

• Useful for moderately heal sensitive product

• Compact and simple design
• Most suitable for corrosive liquids

In rising film feed solution forms a rising film in the tubes. These are unsuited to salting or
severely scaling liquids. These evaporators are compact, simple in construction. They are
suitable for corrosive liquids.

Forced Circulation Evaporators

• Can handle salting, scaling and fouling liquids

• Best suitable for crystalline products, corrosive viscous solutions

Forced circulation evaporators can handle salting, scaling & fouling liquids. They are best
suitable for crystalline products, corrosive & viscous solutions.
These evaporators have relatively high hold up or residence time thus not suitable for heat
sensitive liquids.
They suffer frequently from plugging of tubes, salting in tubes & poor circulation.

Short tube vertical Evaporators

• Reclusively less expensive

• Facilitate easy de-scaling
• Can be widely used in sugar industry.

Short tube evaporators are the oldest but still widely used. They are most widely used in
Sugar Industry in evaporation of cane-sugar juice.
They are relatively inexpensive & easy de-scaling. This type is seldom used as a crystallizing
evaporator. By installing a propeller, propeller calendria type evaporator can be used for
crystalline products.
They suffer from mild scaling but can be cleaned mechanically.

We offer single effect or multi-effect evaporators according to product properties & /or clients
requirement with or without thermal compression to lower temperatures & reduce residence
time of product.

Rising Film Evaporators

Rising Film Evaporators
These operate on a "thermo-siphon" principle. Feed product (A) enters the bottom of the
heating tubes and as it heats, steam begins to form. The ascending force of this steam
produced during the boiling causes liquid and vapors to flow upwards in parallel flow. At the
same time the production of vapor increases and the product is pressed as a thin film on the
walls of the tubes, and the liquid rises upwards. This co-current upward movement against
gravity has the beneficial effect of creating a high degree of turbulence in the liquid. This is
advantageous during evaporation of highly viscous products and products that have a
tendency to foul the heating surfaces.

A: Product
B: Vapor
C: Concentrate
D: Heating Steam
E: Condensate

Figure 1: Rising Film Evaporator

Usually there must be a rather high temperature difference between the heating and boiling
sides of this type of evaporator. Otherwise the energy of the vapor flow is not sufficient to
convey the liquid and to produce the rising film. The length of the boiling tubes will typically
not exceed 23 ft (7m).

This type of evaporator is often used with product recirculation, where some of the formed
concentrate is reintroduced back to the feed inlet in order to produce sufficient liquid loading
inside the heating tubes. A number of different designs have been developed using this basic
principle. A good example is the Roberts evaporator, which is the oldest type of circulation
evaporator. This type of evaporator has a wide circulation tube in the center of the heating
tube bundle through which concentrate flows back to the bottom of the tube bundle. The
Roberts evaporator is still widely used in the sugar industry.

Used Evaporators
Evaporators are used to concentrate a solution, separating the vapor from the solution. All
evaporation equipment contains a heat exchanger for heating the process solution and a means
to effectively separate the vapor from the residual liquid, called a vapor separator. Evaporator
performance is rated by Lbs per hour or Kg per hour of evaporation. The greatest increase in
steam economy is achieved by reusing the vaporized solvent. This is done in a Multiple Effect
Evaporator by using the vapor from one effect as the heating medium for another effect in
which boiling takes place at a lower temperature and pressure. Another method of increasing
the utilization of energy is to use a Thermo Compression evaporator, in which the vapor is
compressed so that it will condense at a temperature high enough to permit its use as the
heating medium in the same evaporator. This type is also called a MVR or mechanical vapor
recompression.

Types of Evaporators

Short tube vertical evaporators are natural circulation evaporators. These units consist of short
tubes 4-6 feet long and 2” to 4” in diameter set between two horizontal tube sheets that span
the evaporator body diameter. The tube bundle contains a large circular down comer that
returns concentrated liquid above the top tube sheet to below the bottom tube sheet for
product withdrawal. The driving force for flow of liquid through the tubes is the difference in
density between the liquid in the down comer and the tubes.

Long tube vertical evaporators accomplish more evaporation than in all other types combined.
They are also natural circulation evaporators. They are also categorized individually as rising
film, falling film, and rising/falling film types. Basically these units consist of a vertical single
pass shell and tube heat exchanger discharging into a relatively small vapor head. Tube length
is typically12’ to 36’; and the tube diameters are from 0.75” to 2” OD. Units may be once
through or recirculating, depending upon the application. Long tube evaporators are the most
economical design.

• Rising Film – feed liquor enters at the bottom of the tube and boils part way up the
tube with the mixture of liquid and vapor leaving at the top. As the liquid in the tubes
boil the vapor generated from boiling fills the core of the tube forcing the liquid to the
side wall. As the liquid moves up the tube more vapor is formed and the remaining
liquid thins out and moves more rapidly up the tube increasing the heat transfer
coefficients and reducing the residence time
• Falling Film – feed liquor enters the top of the tube and flows down the tube wall as a
thin film. Since the film is moving in the direction of gravity, a finer and faster
moving film results, yielding higher heat transfer coefficients and reduced contact
times. The flow of vapor and liquid may be co-current in which the vapor-liquid
separation takes place at the bottom, or counter-current where the liquid is drawn from
the bottom and the vapor from the top
Forced circulation evaporators are made in a variety of arrangements for services where the
feed and/or product liquor has a tendency to salt or scale and where the viscosities of the
solutions are so high that natural circulation is not feasible. Force circulation is achieved by
using pumps. Forced circulation leads to high tube side velocities and higher heat transfer
coefficients and smaller heating surfaces. The pump withdraws liquor from the flash chamber
and forces it through the heating element back to the flash chamber. Circulation is maintained
regardless of the evaporation rate so this type of evaporator is well suited to crystallizing
operations where solids must be maintained in suspension at all times.

Thin Film or Wiped Film are agitated evaporators - essentially a large diameter jacketed tube,
in which the product is vigorously agitated and continuously removed from the tube wall by
scraper blades or wipers mounted on a shaft rotating inside the tube. The material to be
processed is continuously spread as a thin film on the tube walls by the mechanical agitator.
This permits processing of extremely viscous and heat sensitive materials, as well as products
that crystallize. The heating medium may be steam or hot oil on the jacket side.

COMP offers a complete range of Rising Film

Evaporators of both short and long tube design.

In Rising Film Evaporator, due to the ascending

force of the vapour bubbles, which are produced
during boiling, the liquid and vapours flow
upwards in a parallel flow. Simultaneously the
vapour quantity also increase thereby forming a
"Climbing" film on the walls of a tube. Due to this
there is a high turbulence in the liquid and these
evaporators are advantageous for heat sensitive,
highly viscous and moderately scaling liquids.

The temperature difference in the rising film

evaporators should be high between the heating
chest and boiling chamber to ensure the RISING FILM EVAPORATORS
circulation and formation of a climbing film.

These evaporators are flexible enough to be

converted to Forced Circulation Evaporators.

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS -

• Chemical Industry

• Effluent Treatment Plants

FEATURES OF COMP RISING FILM
EVAPORATORS -
• Ideal for liquids which attain high
viscosity and have fouling tendency.
• Suitable for high temperature
application.
• Better steam economy as compared to
CRITICAL DESIGN FEATURES -
• Properly selected vapour fractions.
• Wide data bank of coefficient from
which the best possible heat transfer
coefficient is selected.
• Rest same as Falling Film Evaporator.
• Easy removal of deposits can be
 falling film evaporator. achieved by increasing feed rate or
• Low capital cost. reducing steam rate.

• Versatility to change to forced • Special designs of vapour separators

circulation type evaporator if product for foaming products.
behavior is likely to change.

Evaporation

Evaporation refers to the process of heating liquid to the boiling point to remove water as
vapour. Because milk is heat sensitive, heat damage can be minimized by evaporation under
vacuum to reduce the boiling point. The basic components of this process consist of:

• heat-exchanger
• vacuum
• vapour separator
• condenser

The heat exchanger is enclosed in a large chamber and transfers heat from the heating
medium, usually low pressure steam, to the product usually via indirect contact surfaces. The
vacuum keeps the product temperature low and the difference in temperatures high. The
vapour separator removes entrained solids from the vapours, channelling solids back to the
heat exchanger and the vapours out to the condenser. It is sometimes a part of the actual heat
exchanger, especially in older vacuum pans, but more likely a separate unit in newer
installations. The condenser condenses the vapours from inside the heat exchanger and may
act as the vacuum source.

Principle of Operation

The driving force for heat transfer is the difference in temperature between the steam in the
coils and the product in the pan. The steam is produced in large boilers, generally tube and
chest heat exchangers. The steam temperature is a function of the steam pressure. Water boils
at 100° C at 1 atm., but at other pressures the boiling point changes. At its boiling point, the
steam condenses in the coils and gives up its latent heat. If the steam temperature is too high,
burn-on/fouling increases so there are limits to how high steam temperatures can go. The
product is also at its boiling point. The boiling point can be elevated with an increase in solute
concentration. This boiling point elevation works on the same principles as freezing point
depression.

Evaporator Designs

Types of single effect evaporators:

• Batch Pan
• Rising film
• Falling film
• Plate evaporators
• Scraped surface
Batch pan evaporators are the simplest and oldest. They consist of spherical shaped, steam
jacketed vessels. The heat transfer per unit volume is small requiring long residence times.
The heating is due only to natural convection, therefore, the heat transfer characteristics are
poor. Batch plants are of historical significance; modern evaporation plants are far-removed
from this basic idea. The vapours are a tremendous source of low pressure steam and must be
reused.

Rising film evaporators consist of a heat exchanger isolated from the vapour separator. The
heat exchanger, or calandria, consists of 10 to 15 meter long tubes in a tube chest which is
heated with steam. The liquid rises by percolation from the vapours formed near the bottom of
the heating tubes. The thin liquid film moves rapidly upwards. The product may be recycled if
necessary to arrive at the desired final concentration. This development of this type of modern
evaporator has given way to the falling film evaporator.

The falling film evaporators are the most widely used in the food industry. They are similar
in components to the rising film type except that the thin liquid film moves downward under
gravity in the tubes. A uniform film distribution at the feed inlet is much more difficult to
obtain. This is the reason why this development came slowly and it is only within the last
decade that falling film has superceded all other designs. Specially designed nozzles or spray
distributors at the feed inlet permit it to handle more viscous products. The residence time is
20-30 sec. as opposed to 3-4 min. in the rising film type. The vapour separator is at the
bottom which decreases the product hold-up during shut down. The tubes are 8-12 meters
long and 30-50 mm in diameter.

Multiple Effect Evaporators

Two or more evaporator units can be run in sequence to produce a multiple effect evaporator.
Each effect would consist a heat transfer surface, a vapour separator, as well as a vacuum
source and a condenser. The vapours from the preceding effect are used as the heat source in
the next effect. There are two advantages to multiple effect evaporators:
• economy - they evaporate more water per kg steam by re-using vapours as heat
sources in subsequent effects
• improve heat transfer - due to the viscous effects of the products as they become more
concentrated

Each effect operates at a lower pressure and temperature than the effect preceding it so as to
maintain a temperature difference and continue the evaporation procedure. The vapours are
removed from the preceding effect at the boiling temperature of the product at that effect so
that no temperature difference would exist if the vacuum were not increased. The operating
costs of evaporation are relative to the number of effects and the temperature at which they
operate. The boiling milk creates vapours which can be recompressed for high steam
econonmy. This can be done by adding energy to the vapour in the form of a steam jet,
thermo compression or by a mechanical compressor, mechanical vapour recompression.

Thermo Compression (TC)

Involves the use of a steam-jet booster to recompress part of the exit vapours from the first
effect. Through recompression, the pressure and temperature of the vapours are increased. As
the vapours exit from the first effect, they are mixed with very high pressure steam. The steam
entering the first effect calandria is at slightly less pressure than the supply steam. There is
usually more vapours from the first effect than the second effect can use; usually only the first
effect is coupled with multiple effect evaporators.

Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR)

Whereas only part of the vapour is recompressed using TC, all the vapour is recompressed in
an MVR evaporator. Vapours are mechanically compressed by radial compressors or simple
fans using electrical energy.

There are several variations; in single effect, all the vapours are recompressed therefore no
condensing water is needed; in multiple effect, can have MVR on first effect, followed by two
or more traditional effects; or can recompress vapours from all effects.