EVAPORATION

COURSE: HEAT TRANSFER

ENGR. HASNAIN
EVAPORATION

 DEINITION
 MECHANISM
 FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPORATION
 EVAPORATION AT REDUCED PRESSURE
 EQUIPMENTS USED FOR EVAPORATION
 APPLICATION OF EVAPORATION
EVAPORATION
 Theoretically “Evaporation means simply vaporization from the surface of a
liquid. Vaporization of a liquid below its boiling point is called evaporation.
 Thus, no boiling occurs and the rate of vaporization depends on the diffusion of
vapor through the boundary layers above the liquid
 Thus a practical definition of evaporation is “The removal of liquid from a
solution by boiling the solution in a suitable vessel and withdrawing the vapor,
leaving a concentrated liquid residue.”
 This means that heat will be necessary to provide the latent heat of vaporization
and, in general the rate of evaporation is controlled by the rate of heat transfer.
 Evaporators are designed, therefore, to give maximum heat transfer to the
liquid, with the largest possible area, a suitable temperature gradient.
MECHANISM:

 When heat is applied in solution the motion of molecules

increase and molecules present at the surface overcome
the surface tension of the liquid and evaporates because
surface molecules have less cohesive force than others.
Factors affecting the Evaporation

 There are seven factors to affect evaporation

 Temperature
 Surface area
 Agitation

 Atmospheric pressure on the liquid under evaporation

 Type of product required
 Economic factors
Factors affecting the Evaporation:
 Temperature: The rate of evaporation is directly proportional to the
temperature.
 Surface area: The rate of evaporation is directly proportional to the surface
area of the vessel exposed to evaporation.
 Agitation: is necessary for evaporation
 Atmospheric pressure on the liquid under evaporation: The rate of
evaporation is inversely proportional to the atmospheric pressure on the
liquid under evaporation.
 Type of product required: The selection of the method and apparatus to be
used for evaporation depends upon type of product required.
 Economic factors: When selecting the method and apparatus the economic
factors are important
EVAPORATION UNDER REDUCED
PRESSURE
 At reduced pressure evaporation increases.
 Advantage:
 Evaporation occurs at low temperature, with less risk of damage to
heat sensitive materials.
 A lower operating temperature gives higher temperature gradients,
without the need of excessive steam pressures.
 The lower the operating, temperature the lower the steam pressure
that can be used.
EQUIPMENT USED FOR EVAPORATION

 Equipment which are used for evaporation are called

Evaporators.
 Types of Evaporator:
 Evaporators are divided mainly into three groups.
 1. Natural circulation evaporator
 Types:
 i) Evaporating pans ii) Evaporating stills iii) Short tube evaporator
 2. Forced circulation evaporator.
 3. Film evaporator
 Types:
 i) Wiped Film evaporator ii) Long Tube Evaporator a) Climbing film evaporator b)
Falling film evaporator
NATURAL CIRCULATION EVAPORATORS

 Working principle:
 The movement of the liquid results from convection currents set
up by the heating process.
 Convection currents: The process in which heat moves through a
gas or liquid as the hotter parts rises and the cooler part sinks.
Evaporating Pans
 “On a manufacturing scale, liquid extracts containing water are
evaporated in open pans called evaporating pans.”
 Construction:
 The evaporating pan consists of
 Hemispherical shallow made of Copper Stainless steel Aluminum Enameled
iron
 Steam jacket; The hemispherical shape gives the best surface volume ratio
for heating and the largest area for the disengagement of vapor.
 Working:
 The dilute solution is taken in the pan. Steam is introduced through the
steam inlet into the jacket to heat the pan. In these evaporators the
movement of the liquid results from convection currents set up by the
heating process. The concentrated liquid is collected through the outlet
placed at the bottom of the pan.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:

 Advantages
 1) They are simple, easy and cheap to construct. 2) They are easy to use and
clean. 3) Stirring of the evaporating liquids can be done easily.
 Disadvantages
 1) The whole of the liquid is heated all the time which may lead to decomposition
of the components. 2) On the evaporating surface foam is rapidly formed which
decreases evaporation. Solids may be deposited at the bottom which make the
stirring necessary. 3) This pan can only be used for evaporating aqueous and
thermostable liquid extracts. 4) They can not be used for evaporating extracts
containing organic solvents like alcohol etc.
EVAPORATING STILL

 Construction
 It consists of a jacketed-evaporating pan with a cylindrical
cover that connects it to a condenser. The over all assembly
is called still. The cover is clamped with the evaporating
pan.
 Working
 The dilute liquid is fed into the still, the cover is clamped.
Steam is introduced into the jacket. The liquid is evaporated
and condensed in the condenser and collected. The product
(i.e. concentrated liquid) is collected through the product
outlet.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:

 Advantages
 Easy to clean and maintain. Allow the equipment to be used for solvents
other than water. E.g. ethanol.
 Disadvantages
 All the liquor is heated all the time. The heating surface is limited
 SHORT TUBE EVAPORATOR
 Construction
 The evaporator is a cylindrical vessel. The lower portion of the vessel
consists of a nest of tubes with the liquor inside and steam outside– this
assembly is called calendra. The specifications of calendria are as
follows: • Tube length: 1 – 2 m • Tube diameter: 40 – 80 mm • Diameter
of evaporator: 2.5 m • Number of tubes: 1000 • The feed inlet is at the
top of the calendra. The product outlet is placed at the bottom of the
evaporator. Steam inlet and outlet is placed from the side of the
calendria.
 Working
 The liquor in the tubes is heated by the steam and begins to boil, when
the mixture of liquid and vapor will shoot up the tubes (in a similar
manner to that of a liquid that is allowed to boil to vigorously in a test-
tube). • The product is collected through the product outlet.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
 Advantages
 1. Use of tubular calendria increases the heating area, possibly by a factor of
10 to 15 compared to that of an external jacket. 2. Increasing the rate of heat
transfer. 3. Condenser and receiver can be attached to run the evaporation
under vacuum with non aqueous solvents.
 Disadvantages
 1. Since the evaporator is filled to a point above the level of the calendria, a
considerable amount of liquid is heated for a long time. The effect of this
continual heating can be reduced to some extent by removing concentrated
liquor slowly from the outlet at the bottom of the vessel. 2. Complicated
design, difficult for cleaning and maintenance.
FORCED CIRCULATION EVAPORATORS

 Construction
 The evaporator consists of a short tube calendria and a large
cylindrical vessel (body of the evaporator) for separation of
vapor and liquid takes place. The liquor inlet is provided at the
side of the cylindrical vessel. A pump is fitted in between the
calendria and the body of the evaporator. A tangential inlet for
liquid under high pressure is placed at neck of the body of the
evaporator. The vapor outlet is placed at the top of the body
and it may be passed through a condenser to collect the
condensed liquid.
FORCED CIRCULATION EVAPORATORS

 Working principle:
 Feed is introduced through the liquor inlet. Pump will force the liquid
through the calendria. Steam heats the liquid inside the calendria. As it
is under pressure in the tubes the boiling point is elevated and no boiling
takes place. As the liquor leaves the tubes and enters the body of the
evaporator through the tangential inlet there is a drop in pressure and
vapor flashes off from the superheated liquor. The concentrated liquid is
pumped out through the product outlet and the vapor is collected
through the vapor outlet.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
 Advantages
 1) These have an great advantage over natural circulation evaporators in
that the rapid liquid movement improves heat transfer, especially with
viscous liquids or materials that deposit solids or foam readily. 2) The
equipment is suitable for operation under reduced pressure due to the
capacity of the process to overcome the effect of greater viscosity of
liquids. 3) These evaporators possess rapid evaporation rate. 4) These
evaporators are mainly used for thermolabile materials. 5) These can also
be used in practice for the concentration of insulin and liver extracts.
 Disadvantages
 Corrosion-erosion can occur, due to high circulation velocities. Salt
deposits detach and accumulate at the bottom.
FILM EVAPORATORS
 Film evaporators spread the material as a film
over the heated surface, and the vapor escapes
the film.
 Following are the types of film evaporators.
 i)Wiped Film evaporator ii)Long Tube Evaporator a)
Climbing film evaporator b) Falling film evaporator
WIPED FILM EVAPORATORS

 Construction
 A form of film evaporator coming into increasing use is the wiped film
evaporator or rotary film evaporator, which contains of a single, short
tube of wide diameter, better described as a narrow cylindrical vessel,1
or 2 meters in length. A section across the evaporator is shown here
where it will be seen that the vessel is surrounded by a heated jacked.
Through the vessel is a bladed rotor, with a clearance of the order of
1mm between the tips of the rotor blades and the wall of the vessel
WIPED FILM EVAPORATORS

 Working
 The liquor is introduced at the top of the vessel and
spread as a film over the heated wall by the action of
the rotor. Evaporation occurs as the liquor passes down
the wall, vapor is taken to a condenser and the
concentrated liquor withdrawn at the bottom of the
vessel. The evaporator is therefore a form of single tube,
falling film evaporator in which the film is formed and
agitated mechanically.
Long tube evaporators (Climbing film
evaporators)
 Construction
 The heating unit consists of steam-jacketed tubes, having
a length to diameter ratio of about 140 to 1, so that a
large evaporator may have tubes 50 mm in diameter and
about 7 m in length. The liquor to be evaporated is
introduced into the bottom of the tube, a film of liquid
forms on the walls and rises up the tubes, hence it is
called climbing film evaporator.
Long tube evaporators (Climbing film
evaporators)
 Working
 At the upper end, the mixture of vapor and concentrated liquor enters a
separator, the vapor passes to a condenser, and the concentrated liquid to
a receiver. Cold or pre heated liquor is introduced into the tube. Heat is
transferred to the liquor from the walls and boiling begins. Ultimately
sufficient vapor has been formed for the smaller bubbles to unite to a
large bubble, filling the width of the tube and trapping a ‘slug’ of liquid
above the bubble. As more vapor is formed, the slug of liquid is blown up
the tube, the tube is filled with vapor, while the liquid continues to
vaporize rapidly, the vapor escaping up the tube and, because of friction
between the vapor and liquid, the film also is dragged up the tube unto a
distance of 5 to 6 meters.
Long tube evaporators (Falling film
evaporators)
 Construction:
 The heating unit consists of steam-jacketed tubes, having a length to
diameter ratio of about 140 to 1, so that a large evaporator may have tubes
50 mm in diameter and about 7 m in length.
 Working principle
 The liquor to be evaporated is introduced at the top of the evaporator tubes
and the liquor comes down due to gravity. The concentrate and vapor leaves
the bottom. They are separated in a chamber where the concentrate is taken
out through product outlet and vapor from vapor outlet.
Advantages/ Disadvantages

 Advantages
 Because of obtaining good heat transfer the method being especially
useful with liquids that are too viscous to be processed in units in which
the film is formed naturally.
 Disadvantages
 A major disadvantage of falling film evaporators is the potential
instability of the falling film. Expense to manufacture and install the
instrument is high. Difficult to clean and maintain.
APPLICATION OF EVAPORATION

 Evaporation is one of the most important processes in the

manufacture of pharmaceuticals. It is used in the preparation of 1.
Liquid extracts, soft extracts & dry extracts. 2. In the
concentration of blood plasma & serum. 3. It is also used in the
manufacture of drugs containing, antibiotics, enzymes, hormones
& many other substances. 4) Used in purification of vitamins. (5)
Concentration of proteins. 6) Concentration of biological products.
7) Stripping of solvents from vegetable & plant or herbal extracts.
8) Removal of water & solvents from fermentation broths. 9)
Concentration of penicillin & related products.