EVAPORATION Type of evaporation equipment and operation methods, calculation method for single effect and multiple effect evaporators.
TYPES OF EVAPORATORS The chief types of steam-heated tubular evaporators are: 1.Long-tube vertical evaporator a) Upward flow (climbing-film) b) Downward flow (falling-film) c) Forced circulation 2.Agitated-film evaporators Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 2
Long tube evaporator with upward flow Essential parts: 2) A separator or a vapor space for removing entrained liquid from the vapor. 1) A tubular exchanger with steam in the shell and liquid to be concentrated in the tubes 3) When operated as a circulation unit, a return leg for the liquid from the separator to the bottom of the exchanger. Fig. 16.1: Evaporators: (a) vertical climbing film, long-tube unit Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 3
Fig. 16.1: Evaporators: (b) forced-circulation unit with separate twopass horizontal heating element. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 4
Falling film evaporators O Used for heat-sensitive materials such as fruit juices and milk. O Liquid enters top flows downstream inside the heated tube as a film leaves bottom O Vapor evolved from the liquid is usually carried downward with the liquid and leaves from the bottom. O These evaporators resemble long, vertical, tubular exchangers with a liquid-vapor separators at the bottom and a distributor fro the liquid at the top. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 5
Example 16.1 O Condensed milk is produced by evaporation of milk in a falling-film evaporator containing stainless steel tubes 32 mm in diameter and 6 m long. Evaporation takes place at 60 o C, which is the boiling point of milk at 2.7lb f /in 2.absolute, using steam at 70 o C. The feed rate is 40 kg/h per tube at 60 o C. a) Estimate the internal coefficient h i and overall coefficient U. b) What is the evaporation rate per tube? c) If the raw milk has 13.5% fat plus solids, what is the concentration of the condensed milk? d) Calculate the average residence time in the evaporator. The properties µ, of cp milk at 60 o C Ρ, are: kg/m 3 Κ, W/m.K λ, J/g Raw milk 25% solids 0.94 1.6 1010 1030 0.62 0.55 2357 2357 Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 6
O From the solution given, derive the following: i. k = 0.662 W/m.K ii. iii. µ = 0.406 cp λ = 2,331 J/g @ 70 o C Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 7
Performance of tubular evaporator O The principal measures of the performance: i. Capacity = the number of kgs of water vaporized ii. per hour. Economy = the number of kgs vaporized per kg of steam fed to the unit. O In a single-effect evaporator the economy is nearly always < 1 O In multiple-effect equipment it way considerably greater. O Steam consumption (kg/h) = Capacity / economy. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 8
Evaporator capacity O The rate of heat transfer, q = product of three factors: Area of the heat-transfer surface A, the overall heat-transfer coefficient U, and the overall temperature drop, T or q = UA T (16.1) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 9
O Flash evaporation: O If feed is at a temperature above the boiling point in the vapor space, a portion of the feed evaporates spontaneously by adiabatic equilibrium with the vapor-space pressure and the capacity is greater than that corresponding to q. O Actual temperature drop across the heating surface depends on: 1. the solution being evaporated 2. The difference in pressure between the steam chest and the vapor space above the boiling liquid 3. Depth of liquid in the tubes, due to frictional loss in the tubes which increases the effective pressure of the liquid. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 10
Boiling point elevation and Dühring s rule O The vapor pressure of aqueous solution is less than that of water at the same temperature. O Consequently, for a given pressure the boiling point of the solution is higher than that of pure water. O Boiling-point elevation (BPE): the increase of boiling point over that of water. O Dühring s rule: the boiling point of a given solution is a linear function of the boiling point of pure water at the same pressure. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 11
Fig. 16.3: Dühring lines, system sodium hydroxide-water (After McCabe) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 12
Effect of liquid head and friction on temperature drop O When velocity of liquid is large, frictional loss in the tubes further increases the average pressure of the liquid. O Therefore, in any actual evaporator, the average boiling point of the liquid in the tubes is higher than the boiling point corresponding to the pressure in the vapor space. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 13
Relation between the temperature in an evaporator and the distance along the tube, measured from the bottom. Applies to a long-tube vertical evaporator with upflow of liquid. Fig. 16.4: Temperature history of liquor in tubes and temperature drops in long-tube vertical evaporator (Detail of the description can be found in the text book on page 495. ) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP The entering steam may be slightly superheated at T h. The superheated is quickly given up, an the steam drops to saturation temperature, T s. Before the condensate leaves the steam space, it may be cooled slightly to temperature T c. 14
Pressure change O When the velocity inside an evaporator tube is such that boiling starts inside the tube, the liquid in the nonboiling section moves slowly and pressure drop from friction is small. O In the boiling section, the mixture of vapor and liquid has a high velocity, and the friction loss is large. O Thus the pressure in the tube falls slowly in the lower part of the tubes and much more rapidly in the upper section, where the velocity is high. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 15
Heat transfer coefficients O O O O The heat flux and the evaporator capacity are affected by changes both in the temperature drop and in the overall heattransfer coefficient. The overall coefficient is strongly influenced by the design ad method of operation of the evaporator. The overall resistance to heat transfer between the steam and the boiling liquid = ΣThe steam-film resistance+2 scale resistance (inside and outside the tube)+ tube wall resistance +resistance from the boiling liquid. The overall coefficient = 1/the overall resistance. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 16
Heat transfer coefficients Steam film coefficients O The steam-film coefficient is characteristically high even when condensation is filmwise. Promoters are sometimes added to the steam to give dropwise condensation and still higher coefficient. O Since the presence of noncondensable gas seriously reduces the steam-film coefficient, provision must be made to vent noncondensables fro the steam chest and to prevent leakage of air inward when the steam is at a pressure below atm. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 17
Heat transfer coefficients Liquid side coefficients O The liquid-side coefficient depends to a large extent on the velocity of the liquor over the heated surface. O For falling-film evaporators the inside coefficient is about the same as that for film-type condensation on a vertical surface. O Most of the evaporation takes plave at the liquid-vapor interface. O The film coefficient is greater than for purely laminar flow and can be estimated using Fig. 13.2. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 18
Overall coefficient Due to the difficulty of measuring the high individual film-coefficients in an evaporator, experimental results are usually expressed in terms of overall coefficients. Table 16.1: Typical overall coefficients in evaporators Type Overall coefficient U Long-tube vertical evaporators Natural circulation Forced circulation Agitated-film evaporator, newtonian liquid, viscosity 1 cp 1 P 100P W/m 2. C 1000-2500 2000-5000 2000 1500 600 Btu/ft 2.h. F 200-500 400-1000 400 300 120 Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 19
Evaporator Economy O The main factor influencing the economy of an evaporator system is te number of effects. O The economy also is influenced by the temperature of the feed. O If the temperature: O Below the boiling pointin the first effect, the heating load uses a part of the enthalpy of vaporization of the steam and only a fraction is left for evaporation. O above the boiling, the accompanying flash contributes some evaporation over and above that generated by the enthalpy of evaportaion in the steam. O Quantitatively, evaporator economy is entirely a matter of enthalpy balances. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 20
Enthalpy balances for singleeffect evaporator O The latent heat of condensation of the steam is transferred through a heating surface to vaporize water from a boiling solution. O 2 enthalpy balances are needed, 1 for the steam and one for the vapor or liquid side. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 21
(16.2) (16.3) Where q = rate of heat transfer from heating surface to liquid H v = specific enthalpy of vapor H c = specific enthalpy of thin liquor H = specific enthalpy of thick liquor Fig. 16.5: Material and enthalpy balances in evaporator Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP Combining Eq. 16.2 and 16.3 becomes (16.4) 22
Enthalpy balance with negligible heat of dilution O O O O The heat-transfer rate q on liquor sides is (16.5) If the specific heat of the thin liquor is assumed constant over the temperature range from T f to T then, (16.6) (16.7) Where c pf = specific heat of thin liquor, λ v = latent heat of vaporization from thick liquor If the boiling-point elevation of the thick liquor is negligible, λ v = λ (16.8) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 23
Enthalpy balance with appreciable heat of dilution; enthalpyconcentration diagram O If the heat of dilution of the liquor being concentrated is too large to be neglected, an enthalpy-concentration diagram is used for the values of H f and H in Eq. (16.4). O Fig. 16.6 is an enthalpy-concentration diagram for solution of sodium hydroxide and water. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 24
Fig. 16.6: Enthalpy-concentration diagram, system sodium hydroxide-water. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 25
Single effect calculations O The use of material balances, enthalpy balances, and the capacity equation (16.1) in the design of single-effect evaporators is shown in Example 16.2. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 26
Multiple effect evaporators O Fig. 16.7 shows 3 long-tube natural-circulation evaporators connected to form a triple-effect system. Fig. 16.7: Triple-effect evaporator: I, II, III, first, second and third effects; F 1, F 2, F 3 feed or liquor control valves; S 1, steam valve, p1, p 2, p 3 pressures; T s, T 1, T 2, T 3, temperatures. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 27
The heating surface in the first effect will transmit per hour an amount of heat given by the equation (16.9) The heat transmitted in the second effect, however, is given by the equation (16.10) As has just been shown, q 1 and q 2 are nearly equal, and therefore (16.11) This same reasoning may be extended to show that, roughly (16.12) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 28
O In ordinary practice the heating areas in all the effects of a multiple=effect evaporator are equal. This is to obtain economy of construction. Since q 1 = q 2 = q 3, (16.13) O From this, it follows that the temperature drops in a multiple-effect evaporator are approximately inversely proportional to the heat-transfer coefficient. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 29
Example 16.3 O A triple-effect evaporator is concentrating a liquid that has no appreciable elevation in boiling point. The temperature of steam to the first effect is 108 o C, and the boiling point of the solution in the last effect is 52 o C. The overall heat transfer coefficient, in W/m 2. o C, are 2,500 in the first effect, 2,000 in the second effect. And 1,500 in the third effect. At what temperature will the liquid boil in the first and second effects? Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 30
Method of feeding O Forward feed O Backward feed O Mixed feed O Parallel feed Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 31
Capacity and economy of multiple effect evaporators (16.14) (16.15) (16.16) Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 32
Fig. 16.8: Patterns of liquor flow in multiple-effect evaporators: (a) Forward feed; (b) backward feed; (c) mixed feed; (d) parallel feed (-----) Liquor stream (-----) Steam and vapor condensate streams. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 33
Effect of liquid head and boiling-point elevation. Fig. 16.9: Effect of boiling-point elevation on capacity of evaporators. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 34
Optimum number of effects O The cost of each effect of an evaporator per square meter or square foot of surface is a function of its total area and decreases with area, approaching an asymptote for very large installation. O Thus the investment required for an N-effect evaporator is about N times that for single-effect evaporator of the same capacity. O The optimum number of effects must be found from an economic balance between the savings in steam obtained by multiple-effect operation and added investment required. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 35
Multiple effect calculations O For a triple-effect evaporator, 7 equations may be written. i. An enthalpy balance for each effect ii. A capacity equation for each effect iii. The known total evaporation iv. The difference between the thin-and thick liquor rate O If the amount of heating surface in each effect is assumed to be the same, there are 7 unknowns in these equations: 1. The rate of steam flow to the first effect 2. (2) to (4) the rate of flow from each effect 5. The boiling temperature in the first effect 6. The boiling temperature in the second effect 7. The heating surface per effect Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 36
O Another method of calculation is as follow: 1. Assume values for the boiling temperatures in the first and second effects. 2. From enthalpy balances find the rates of steam flow and of liquor from effect to effect. 3. Calculate the heating surface needed in each effect from the capacity equations. 4. If the heating areas so found are not nearly equal, estimate new values for the boiling temperatures and repeat items 2 and 3 until the heating surfaces are equal. O In practice these calculation are done by computer. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 37
Example 16.4 O A triple-effect forced-circulation evaporator is to be fed with 60,000 lb/h (27,215 kg/h) of 10% caustic soda solution at a temperature 180 o F (82.2 o C). The concentrated liquor is to be 50% NaOH. Saturated steam at 50 lb f /in 2 (3.43mm) abs is to be used, and the condensing temperature of vapor from the third effect is 100 o F (37.8 o C). The feed order is II, III, I. Radiation and undercooling of condensate may be neglected. Estimated overall coefficients corrected for boiling-point elevationb are given in Table 16.2. Calculate: a) The heating surface required in each effect, assuming equal surfaces in each b) The steam consumption c) The steam economy. Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 38
Tutorial 3: Due 22/10/15 O Problems: O 16.1 O 16.2 O 16.12 Prepared by, Dr. Nora JULLOK/UniMAP 39