Evaporator: How An Evaporator Works

Evaporator
An evaporator is a device in a process used to turn the liquid form of a chemical substance such
as water into its gaseous-form/vapor. The liquid is evaporated, or vaporized, into a gas form of
the targeted substance in that process.
USES
A different kind of evaporator can be used for heating and possibly boiling a product containing a
liquid to cause the liquid to evaporate from the product.
The appropriate process can be used to remove water or other liquids from liquid based
mixtures. The process of evaporation is widely used to concentrate liquid foods, such as soup or
make concentrated milk called "condensed milk" done by evaporating water from the milk. In the
concentration process, the goal of evaporation is to vaporize most of the water from a solution
which contains the desired product.
An evaporator/evaporative-process can be used for separating liquid chemicals as well as to
salvage solvents.
In the case of desalination of sea water or in Zero Liquid Discharge plants, the reverse purpose
applies; evaporation removes the desirable drinking water from the undesired solute/product,
salt.
One of the most important applications of evaporation is in the food and beverage industry.
Foods or beverages that need to last for a considerable amount of time or need to have certain
consistency, like coffee, go through an evaporation step during processing.
In the pharmaceutical industry, the evaporation process is used to eliminate excess moisture,
providing an easily handled product and improving product stability. Preservation of long-term
activity or stabilization of enzymes in laboratories are greatly assisted by the evaporation
process.
Another example of evaporation is in the recovery of sodium hydroxide in kraft pulping.[2] Cutting
down waste-handling cost is another major reason for large companies to use evaporation
applications. Legally, all producers of waste must dispose of waste using methods compatible
with environmental guidelines; these methods are costly. By removing moisture through
vaporization, industry can greatly reduce the amount of waste product that must be processed.
How an evaporator works

The solution containing the desired product is fed into the evaporator and passes across 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
typically made from copper or aluminium. 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.
Types of evaporators
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. 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

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.
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. Since some years there are also in operation multiple-effect vacuum evaporators with
heat pump, well known to be energetically and technically more effective than systems
with mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) because due to the lower boiling temperature they
can handle highly corrosive liquids or which may form incrustations
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, and to maximize volatile stripping and recovery
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.

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Evaporator

How an evaporator works

Falling film evaporator

Rising film (Long Tube Vertical) evaporator

Climbing and falling-film plate evaporator

Agitated thin film evaporators

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