EVAPORATION

BEA ALEXA SOJOR

Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering and Architecture
Cebu Institute of Technology – University
N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

Abstract

Evaporation is one of the most important unit operations in the process industry. This process is mostly
used for liquor concentration when the solution/mixture’s water content is very high. In this experiment,
the evaporation process was investigated using a particular evaporator. Specifically, the effect of
varying amount of steam and steam pressure was determined. Additionally, the overall heat transfer
coefficient was also determined. It was found out that an increase in the steam pressure corresponds
to a lower pressure drop while no specific relationship was established for varying steam
amounts. Further, the overall heat transfer coefficient was determined to have a value 13.22
W/m2K.
I. Introduction

II. Materials and Methods

Materials

 Water
 Steam

Equipment
 Evaporator
 Condenser
 Steam trap
 Steam Condensate Tank
 Vapor Condensate Tank
 Westphal Balance
 Refractometer

Method
The feed which is measured by water meter A was first introduced into the evaporator
through valve B to a predetermined level on water page C. Steam was then introduced into
the steam chest, and pressure-reducing valve was set to the desired pressure. The steam
condensate from trap E was then passed through a cooler and was collected. As the
evaporation process proceeds, the feed was introduced continuously at a rate sufficient to
maintain the desired level in the evaporator. The evaporator was operated for
approximately 30 minutes to attain equilibrium conditions. Data were then taken over 10
– 15 minute intervals in which the following measurements were recorded:

1. Quantity and temperature of water is introduced

2. Temperature and pressures of the steam and vapor
3. Weight of condensate from condenser
 4. Weight of steam condensate from trap

The experiment was repeated at various steam pressure and liquid levels. A separate series
of runs were made to determine the radiation losses from the steam chest. During these
runs, the evaporator was operated without introducing feed, and the heat losses were
calculated from the quantities of steam condensed at various pressures.

III. Results

Table 1. Tabulated results from the evaporation experiment at different steam

pressures.
Run Number
Symbol Item 20 psi 30 psi 35 psi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Ɵm Time, min 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
W1 Steam used, kg 1 1.25 1.75 2.5 4.25 4.25 4.25 2.75 2.5
Steam
T1 temperature, 110 107 110 111 116 103 101 111 114
°C
Water
W2 2.25 3.25 3.25 6 6 6 6 4.25 4
evaporated, kg
Temperature of
T2 72 87 89 90 88 90 91 91 68
vapor, °C

Table 2. Overall heat transfer coefficient

U (W/m2K) 13.22

IV. Discussion

Presented in Table 1 are the determined temperature drops with varying amount of
steam used and steam pressure. Generally, it can be seen that an increase in steam pressure
corresponds to a lower pressure drop. Pressurized steam has lesser heat content thus, less
heat is also transferred to the solution during the evaporation process. On the other hand,
no corresponding relationship can be established with the amount of steam used versus the
temperature drop. However, the temperature drop is expected to decrease due to the higher
 amounts of heat that will be transferred to the solution (theoretically). It could be that the
poor steam pipe insulation caused the discrepancy in the results.
In order to characterize the evaporator used, the overall heat transfer coefficient was
determined. The result is presented in Table 2 in which the value is 13.22 W/m2K. In the
evaporator, heat transfer occurs. Heat transfer occurs from steam (source of heat) then to
the metal wall of the evaporator and to the fluid being heated. The overall heat transfer
coefficient sums up the resistances offered by these different stages of transfer thus
essential in characterizing the evaporator being used (Geankoplis, 2003; Green & Perry,
2008).
The overall heat transfer coefficient can also be used for designing large-scale
evaporators. The surface area of transfer in particular is the most essential factor in
evaporator designs (Geankoplis, 2003).

V. Conclusion

In this experiment, the effect of varying amount of steam and steam pressure was
determined. It was found out that an increase in the steam pressure corresponds to a lower
pressure drop while no specific relationship was established for varying steam amounts.
Additionally, the overall heat transfer coefficient was determined in which the value is
13.22 W/m2K.

VI. References

Geankoplis, C. J. (2003). Principles of Transport and Separation Processes. New York:

Pearson Education Limited.
Green, D. W., & Perry, R. H. (2008). Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook. Los
Angeles: McGraw-Hill Professional.

VII. Sample Calculations

T1 = 383.15 K ; H1 = 2298.6 KJ/kg
T2 = 345.15 K ; H2 = 2258.2 KJ/kg
Q =Sλ
Q = (1 kg/5min)(60min/1hour)(2298.6KJ/kg)(1000J/1KJ)(1hour/3600s)
Q = 7662 J/s

ΔT= Ts-T1
= (383.15-345.15)K
ΔT = 38K

𝑄 ΔT
=
Ɵ𝑚 ( 𝟏 ) + ( 𝑳 ) + ( 𝟏 )
𝑯𝟏 𝑨 𝑨 𝑯𝟐 𝑨

7662J/s 38K
=
60𝑠 𝟏 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓𝒌𝒈 𝟏
5min⁡(1𝑚𝑖𝑛) ( )+( 𝑨 )+( )
𝟐𝟐𝟗𝟖. 𝟔 ∗ 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎J/kg ∗ A 2258.2 ∗ 1000J/kg⁡ ∗ A

A = 1.5122m2

Q = UAT1
U = Q/(A*T1)
U = (7662J/s)/(1.5122m2)(383.15K)
U = 13.22 W/m2