Thermal Unit Operation

(ChEg3113)
Lecture 11- Evaporator

Instructor: Mr. Tedla Yeshitila (M.Sc.)

 Today…
Review

Evaporator

Example
 Review
Shell and tube exchanger design
Thermal

Hydraulic
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Introduction

 Evaporation is the removal of solvent as vapor from a solution,

slurry or suspension of solid in a liquid.

 The aim is to concentrate a non-volatile solute, such as organic

compounds, inorganic salts, acids or bases from a solvent.

 Common solutes are caustic soda, caustic potash, sodium

sulfate, sodium chloride, phosphoric acid, and urea.

 It is also commonly used in sugar industries.

 The most common solvent in most of the evaporation systems is

water.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Evaporation VS. Vaporizer
 The process by which a liquid changes  The process by which a liquid changes
to its vapors at a temperature below its to its vapors at its boiling point.
boiling point.  It takes place only at fixed
 It takes place at all temperatures. The temperature called boiling point. The
temperature may change during temperature during vaporization does
evaporation. not change.
 It is a slow and silent process.  It is a fast and violent/ intense process.
 It takes place only at the surface of the  It takes place over the entire mass of
liquid. the liquid.
 The rate of evaporation depends upon  The rate of vaporization does not
the surface area of the liquid, wind depend upon the surface area, wind
speed, humidity, and temperature. speed, humidity, and temperature
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 Evaporation differs from the other mass transfer operations such
as distillation and drying.

 In distillation, the components of a solution are separated

depending upon their distribution between vapor and liquid
phases based on the difference of relative volatility of the
substances.

Figure. Distillation column

 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 Removal of moisture from a substance in presence of a hot gas
stream to carry away the moisture leaving a solid residue as the
product is generally called drying.

 Evaporation is normally stopped before the solute starts to

precipitate in the operation of an evaporator.

 In chemical industries, the manufacture of heavy chemicals such

as caustic soda, table salt, and sugar starts with dilute aqueous
solutions from which large quantities of water must be removed
using evaporators before final crystallization take place in
suitable equipment.
 Chapter 6
Types of evaporator Evaporator
 Evaporator consists of a heat exchanger for boiling the solution
with special provisions for separation of liquid and vapor
phases.
 Most of the industrial evaporators have tubular heating surfaces.
 The tubes may be horizontal or vertical, long or short; the liquid
may be inside or outside the tubes.
 Chemical evaporators fall into two classes:
 Natural circulation evaporators: used for simpler
evaporation requirements
• Horizontal tube
• Calandria vertical tube
• Basket vertical tube
• Long tube vertical
• Falling Film Evaporators
 Forced circulation evaporators: used for viscous, salting,
and scale-forming solution
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
1. Horizontal Tube Evaporators
 It consist of a round or square shell and a horizontal tube bundle
which is usually square.
 The advantage is it require small headroom and ability to
arrange the bundle.
 It is the only distinct types of chemical evaporator employing
steam in the tubes.
 It is the least satisfactory for
fluids which form scale or deposit
salt, because the deposit is outside
the tube.
 So it is used only for relatively
simpler problems concentration
rather than preparation of a liquid
for ultimate crystallization.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
2. Short-Tube Vertical Evaporators (Calandria /Robert /
standard evaporator)
• Oldest, and common in process industry
• Still widely used in sugar industry in evaporation of cane-sugar juice.
• It consist of a short tube bundle (about 4 to 10 ft in length) enclosed in
a cylindrical shell. This is called calandria.
• The feed is introduced above the upper tube sheet and steam is
introduced to the shell or steam chest of the calandria. The solution is
heated and partly vaporized in the tubes.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
3. Basket-type Vertical Evaporators

 It is very similar to those of the standard evaporator except that

the down take is annular.

 The tube bundle with fixed tube sheets forms a basket hung in
the center of the evaporator from internal brackets.

 The tube bundle can be removed for the purpose of cleaning and
maintenance and thus basket evaporators are more suitable than
standard evaporators for scale forming solutions.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
4. Long-Tube Vertical Evaporators (LTV)
• This is another most widely employed natural
circulation evaporator because it is often the
cheapest per unit of capacity.
• The liquid flows as a thin film on the walls of
long and vertical heated tube.
• Tube length usually varies from 20 to 65 ft.
• The main advantage of this type of evaporators is
higher heat transfer rate.
• The feed enters at the bottom and the liquid starts
boiling at lower part of the tube.
• The LTV evaporators are commonly used in
concentrating black liquors in the paper and pulp
industries.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
5. Falling Film Evaporators
• In a falling film evaporator, the liquid is fed
at the top of the tubes in a vertical tube
bundle.
• The liquid is allowed to flow down through
the inner wall of the tubes as a film.
• As the liquid travels down the tubes the
solvent vaporizes and the concentration
gradually increases.
• Vapor and liquid are usually separated at the
bottom of the tubes and the thick liquor is
taken out.
• Evaporator liquid is recirculated through the
tubes by a pump below the vapor-liquid
separator.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Forced Circulation Evaporators
 It may not be economical to operate
as natural circulation evaporators,
but they are necessary where the
concentration problem involves a
solution with poor flow, scale, and
thermal characteristics.
 Tubes for forced circulation
evaporators are smaller than in
natural circulation evaporators,
usually not exceeding 2in. OD.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Methods of Feeding of Evaporators
 Evaporators are classified by the number of effects.
 In case of a single-effect evaporator, the vapor from the boiling liquor is
condensed and the concentrated product is withdrawn from the bottom of
the evaporator.
 Although the operation is simple, the device does not use steam efficiently.
 Typically 1.1 to 1.3 kg of steam is required to evaporate 1 kg of water.
 The steam consumption per unit mass of water evaporated can be
decreased by putting more than one evaporator in series such that the vapor
from one evaporator is used in the second evaporator for heating.
 The vapor from the second evaporator is condensed and the arrangement is
called double-effect evaporators.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 The heat from the vapor generated in the first evaporator is used in
the second evaporator.
 Evaporation of water is nearly doubled in double effect evaporation
system compared to single effect per unit mass of steam used.
 Additional effects can be added in series in the same way to get a
triple-effect evaporator, quadruple-effect evaporator and so on.
 There are several configurations based on feeding arrangement:
 Forward feed
 Backward feed
 Mixed feed
 Parallel feed
 Chapter 6
Forward feed Evaporator
 The typical feeding method of multi-effect evaporators is forward feed.
 Both feed and steam are introduced in the first effect and the feed passed from effect
to effect parallel to the vapor from the earlier effect.
 Vapor flashing (free evaporation) occurs when feed liquor is at high temperature or
since saturation temperature of boiling solution in each effect is lower than
temperature the effect preceding it. This reduce the overall steam requirement.
It requires a pump for feeding of dilute
solution to the first effect.
Concentration and viscosity increases
from the first effect to the last.
Since a vacuum usually maintained on
the last effect, the liquid from one effect
to the next effect also can be transferred
without a pump as the flow occurs in the
direction of decreasing pressure.
 But pump requires to remove thick liquor (product) from the last effect.
 Forward feeding operation is helpful when the concentrated product may degenerate
if exposed to high temperature.
 Chapter 6
Backward feed Evaporator
 In backward feed configuration, the feed enters at the last effect (coldest effect)
and is pumped through the successive effects.

 The product is withdrawn from the first effect (hottest) where the steam is
introduced.
This method of feeding requires a pump
between each pair of effects to transfer
liquid from lower pressure effects to
higher pressure effects.

 It is advantageous when cold feed entering needs to be heated to a lower

temperature than in forward feed operation.
 Backward feed is commonly used when products are viscous and exposure to
higher temperature increases the rate of heat transfer due to reduction in viscosity
of the liquid.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 If feed liquor in backward feed evaporator is initially hot, its introduction
to last effect is wasteful, since the vapors which flash off in the last effect
are lost to the condenser.
 The steam cost is less for backward feed if the feed is cold.
 The steam cost is less for forward feed if the feed is liquor is at
approximately the operating temperature of the first effect or higher. .
 Chapter 6
Mixed feed
Evaporator
 In the mixed feed operation, the dilute feed liquid enters at an intermediate
effect and flows in the next higher effect till it reaches the last effect of the
series. In this section, liquid flows in the forward feed mode.
 Partly concentrated liquor is then pumped back to the effect before the one
to which the fresh feed was introduced for further concentration.
 Mixed feed arrangement eliminates some of the pumps needed in backward
configuration as flow occurs due to pressure difference whenever applicable.
 Chapter 6
Parallel feed Evaporator
 The fresh feed is introduced to each effect and in this configuration the product is
withdrawn of from the same effect in parallel feed operation.
 In parallel feeding, there is no transfer of liquid from one effect to another effect.
 It is used primarily when the feed is saturated and the product is solid containing
slurry.
 This is most common in crystallizing evaporators.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
PERFORMANCE OF EVAPORATORS (CAPACITY AND ECONOMY)

 The performance of a steam-heated evaporator is measured in terms of its capacity

and economy.

 Capacity is defined as the number of kilogram of water vaporized per hour.

 Economy (or steam economy) is the number kilogram of water vaporized from
all the effects per kilogram of steam used.

 For single effect evaporator, the steam economy is about 0.8 (<1).

 The capacity is about n-times that of a single effect evaporator and the economy is
about 0.8n for a n-effect evaporators.

 However, pumps, interconnecting pipes and valves are required for transfer of
liquid from one effect to another effect that increases both equipment and
operating costs
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
THERMAL/ POCESS DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Many factors must be carefully considered when designing evaporators.

 The type of evaporator or heat exchangers, forced or natural circulation, feeding

arrangement, boiling point elevation, heat transfer coefficient, fouling, tube size
and arrangement are all very important.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Guidelines for selection of most suitable evaporator

1. Tube size, arrangement and materials

 The selection of suitable tube diameter, tube length and tube –layout is
determined by trial and error calculations like in design of shell and tube heat
exchangers.

 If the pressure drop is more than the allowable pressure drop further
adjustments in tube diameter, tube length and tube-layout is required.

 A variety of materials including low carbon steel, stainless steel, brass, copper,
cupronickel etc. are used.

 However the selection of tube materials depends on the corrosiveness of the

solution and working conditions.
 Chapter 6
2. Heat transfer coefficients Evaporator
 The heat transfer coefficient of condensing steam in shell side is normally very
high compared to the liquid side.
 Therefore tube side (liquid side) heat transfer coefficient practically controls the
rate of heat transfer.
 The overall heat transfer coefficient should be either known/ calculated from the
performance data of an operating evaporator of the same type and processing the
same solution.
 Typical values of overall heat transfer coefficient are given in Table below.
 Chapter 6
3. Boiling point elevation (BPE) Evaporator
 Most evaporators produce concentrated liquor having a boiling point considerably
higher than that of pure solvent (or water). This phenomenon is called boiling point
elevation (BPE).
 BPE occurs as the vapor pressure of a solution (usually aqueous solution) is less than
that of pure solvent at the same temperature.
 Boiling point of a solution is a colligative property. It depends on the concentration
of solute in the solution for a pair of solute and solvent.
 BPE of the concentrated liquor reduces the effective temperature driving force
compared to the boiling of pure solvent.
 Equilibrium vapor generated from a solution exhibiting boiling point elevation is
superheated with respect to vapor generated during boiling of pure solvent.
 The vapor is generated at the solution boiling point, which is higher than the pure
component boiling point.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 The vapor, however, is solute free, so it won’t condense until the extra heat
corresponding to the elevation is removed, thus it is superheated.
 Therefore the BPE of the concentrated solution must be known for
evaporator design.
Determination of BPE:
 For strong solutions, the BPE data is estimated from an empirical rule
known as Dühring rule.
 It states that the boiling point of a given solution is a linear function of the
boiling point of pure water at the same pressure.
 Thus if the boiling point of the solution is plotted against the corresponding
boiling point of pure water at the same pressure, a straight line is generated.
 Different lines are obtained if such plots made for solution of different
concentrations.
 The main advantage is that a Dühring lines can be drawn if boiling points of
a solution and water (read from steam table) at two different pressures are
known.
 This line can be used to predict boiling point of a solution at any pressure.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
4. Selection of suitable evaporator

 The selection of the most suitable evaporator type depends on a number of factors.
Mainly these are:

(i) Throughput,

(ii) Viscosity of the solution (and its increase during evaporation),

(iii) Nature of the product and solvent (such as heat sensitivity and corrosiveness),

(iv) Fouling characteristics and,

(v) Foaming characteristics.

A selection guidelines based on these factors is given in Table below:

Chapter 6
Evaporator
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
MECHANICAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Temperature and pressure are the two important factors that affect the
mechanical design of evaporator systems.

 Many other like startup, shutdown, external loading from supports, wind
loading, earthquake load etc. also significantly affect the evaporator
operation.

 Operating temperature and pressure:

 The operating temperature is the temperature that is maintained for the

specified operation of the metal vessel suitably selected during design.

 The operating pressure is the pressure at the top of a pressure vessel.

 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 Design temperature and pressure:

 It is important to determine both minimum and maximum anticipated operating

temperature and pressure in order to obtain the design temperature and pressure.

 The design pressure is generally the sum of the maximum allowable pressure
and the static head of the fluid in the pressure vessel.

 Maximum allowable working pressure:

 The maximum allowable working pressure is the maximum pressure to which

the equipment can be safely operated.

 Generally, it should not be less than the maximum anticipated operating

pressure divided by a factor of 0.90.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 Thermal expansion:

 Differential thermal expansion between various parts of equipment has a

significant effect on the mechanical design.

 There may be a significant difference of expansion between the shell and

the tube side because of temperature difference of two fluids.

 Thermal expansion may also determine the way in which tubes are fixed
to the tube sheet.

 Usually a suitable expansion joint is centrally placed between two

segments of the shell when the differential expansion may be large.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
THERMAL DESIGN CALCULATION
 The surface and steam requirements for multiple effect chemical evaporation can
be computed by imposing a heat balance across each effect individually and a
material balance over the whole system.
 The following nomenclature will be employed for a quadruple effect:
 CF: specific heat of feed
 tF: temperature of feed
 wF: feed rate
 Ts: saturation temperature of steam to the first effect
 λS is latent heat of steam introduced in the 1st effect at Ps
 Ws: steam rate to the first effect
 w1-4: total water removed by evaporation
 c1,c2,c3,c4: specific heat of liquor in effect 1 to 4
 t1,t2,t3,t4: boiling points of liquor in effect 1 to 4
 w1,w2,w3,w4: water removed in effect 1 to 4
 U1,U2,U3,U4: design overall coefficient in effect 1 to 4
 λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4 : latent heat of steam introduced in the 1st effect at P1, 2nd effect
at P2, 3rd effect at P3, and 4th effect at P4
 Assume that there are no chemical heat effects as a result of the concentration
(i.e. negative heat of solution) and that there is no BPR.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 The selection of the number of effect is closely allied to the relationship among
the fixed charges and the steam operating cost.
 If the number of effect increases, fixed charge increases due to the need of
investment cost and maintained cost, but the steam consumption is reduced.
 If the number of effect decreases, fixed charge decreases, but the steam
consumption is increased.
 Therefore, you have to optimize between these two by designing using different
number of effect (e.g. 2, 3,4…8), then choose the best one.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator

 Forward feed
 Chapter 6
Evaporator

 Backward feed

 The surface requirement for both forward and backward feed is same.

 From material and heat balance, there are five equations and five unknowns
(Ws,w1,w2,w3,w4), so these may be solve simultaneously.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
 The surface in each of the bodies will be identical.

 It is shown by experience that under tis condition the pressure difference between
each effect will be approximately equal.

 The assumption of an equal division of the total pressure difference not valid
particularly when overall coefficients in the different effect vary greatly or when
there is considerable flashing in the first effect.

 To equalize the surface in each body the temperature difference in the individual
effects can be adjusted so that a larger temperature difference will be employed in
the effect having the lowest heat transfer coefficient, the heat load in all effects
remaining nearly equal.

 Multiple effect evaporator may be designed for a minimum surface or minimum

initial cost.
 Chapter 6
Evaporator
Example: Calculation of a triple effect forward-feed evaporator

 It is desired to concentrate 50,000lb/hr of a chemical solution at 100F and 10.0%

solids to a product which contains 50% solids. Steam is available at 12psig, and the
last effect of a triple effect evaporator with equal heat transfer surfaces in each
effect will be assumed to operate at a vacuum of 26.0 in. Hg referred to a 30 in.
barometer. Water is available at 85 F for use in barometric condenser.

 Assume a negligible BPR, an average specific heat of 1.0 in all effects, the
condensate from each effect leaves at its saturation temperature and that there are
negligible radiation loss.

 Calculate a) steam consumption b) heating surface required for each body c)

condenser water requirement

 The accepted overall coefficients of the heat transfer for the different effect will be
U =600, U =250, U =125Btu/hr ft F
 At the end of this class:
 You will be able to distinguish dryer, vaporizer, evaporator,
distillation column

 You will be able to understand different types of feed in

evaporator and the different factors in its design

 You will be able to design evaporator with different number of

effect
End of lecture -11
 Chapter 7
Condenser

Reading assignment