Evaporators

(Agitated thin film evaporator, Plate evaporator, Accessories, Vapor

recompression)

Saurav Kadam
Department of Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal

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 1. Agitated thin film Evaporator
Introduction
• For Viscous and sticky, fouling prone,
heat sensitive products (e.g., pharma,
food, polymers)
• Also called “wiped-film” or “scraped-
film” evaporators.
• Rotating wiper or blade assembly (8-
10 blade passes/s) spreads uniform
thin film of process fluid on jacketed
shell
• Product spirals down wall, bow
waves by rotor blades create turbulent
flow
Applications:
• Pharmaceutical: Concentration of heat-
sensitive drugs, antibiotics, vitamins
• Food & Beverage
• Solvent recovery, resin and polymer
concentration
• Cosmetic extracts, fragrances, oils
• Petrochemicals like Lube oils, waxes,
polymers, tars
 Advantages:
Disadvantages:
• Very high heat transfer efficiency
and rapid evaporation due to thin • Higher cost of construction and
film
maintenance
• Agitation prevents fouling
• Low residence time prevents thermal • Wipers may jam or get damaged by
stress on fluid large particles. (Regular cleaning,
• Enables low-temp operation protects maintenance required.)
quality
• Too high a viscosity might need
• Industry scalability (multiple units) specialized blades or designs
Introduction
2. Plate Evaporator
• Plates create high surface area, compact design
• Multiple thin, corrugated metal plates stacked together
• Fluids flow between alternating plates in a counter-current or parallel
flow pattern
• Plates have gaskets or are brazed/welded to keep fluids separate
• Required heat transfer area can be achieved by increasing or decreasing
plates.
Applications:

• Dairy (Concentration of milk, whey, lactose solutions)

• Food & Beverage (Fruit juice concentrates, coffee/tea
extracts)
• Pharma & Biotech (Vitamin solutions, protein concentrates)
• Chemical industry
• Cosmetics (Herbal extracts, essential oils)
 Advantages:
Disadvantages:
• Compact size
• Not for very viscous fluids (clogging)
• Easy to disassemble & clean
• Needs regular cleaning to prevent
• Very high heat transfer efficiency
due to turbulence on thin plates fouling

• Short residence time, good for • Not suitable for high pressures
heat-sensitive materials • Gaskets can wear out over time
• Can handle low-temperature • Brazed/Welded plate are difficult to
differences effectively clean as they cannot be opened
• Less fouling
 3. Evaporator Accessories
i. Vacuum pump
Introduction
• Vacuum pump reduces the absolute pressure inside the
evaporator by removing air.
• This lowers boiling point as the liquid's vapor pressure
can match this lower pressure at a lower temperature.
• Types: rotary vane, liquid ring, roots blower, scroll or
piston
• Rotating impeller inside a chamber partly filled with
liquid creates and maintain vacuum by forming a
moving liquid seal

Advantages:
• Energy saving
• For heat-sensitive materials.
 ii. Steam Jet Ejector
Introduction
• Formed by Motive nozzle, Motive chest, Suction chamber, Diffuser
• High pressure steam(6-10 bar) from converging-diverging nozzle (Laval
nozzle) entrains vapor & creates a low-pressure region in evaporator

Advantages:
• Low cost
• Maintenance-free
• Handles corrosive or wet vapors
• Creates deep vacuums
 iii. Barometric condenser
Introduction
• Steam is condensed at reduced pressure through direct contact
with water, increasing efficiency of condensation.

Advantages:
• No pumping required
• High energy efficiency
• Steam is efficiently used and that waste is minimized
• Lower operational cost Hot well

• Water from hot well cannot rise into condenser (i.e. no

flooding)
 iv. Steam traps
Introduction
• Drains condensate and non-condensable gases
without letting steam escape
• If condensate is not removed it floods the system,
reduces heat transfer, causes water hammer (a
destructive pressure shock) & wastes energy
• Types: Mechanical, Thermostatic, Thermodynamic

Advantages:
• Prevent flooding, water hammer, and equipment
damage. Keep system efficient
• Automatic, continuous, cyclic operation
• Self-regulating and require no external power
 v. Entrainment Separator
Introduction
• Also called “mist eliminator” or “demister”
• Removes tiny liquid droplets (entrained liquid) carried by vapor/gas streams
• Entrained liquid reduces purity, causes fouling, corrosion of equipment, reduce
thermal efficiency, wastes product (if the droplets contain valuable concentrate)
• Types: centrifugal/cyclone separator, Mesh Pad / Wire Mist eliminator, Baffle type /
Chevron separator

Advantages:
• Protects compressors, turbines, condensers
• Reduces contamination in vapor stream
• Improves product recovery and quality
• Prevents corrosion & scaling downstream
• Low maintainance
 4. Vacuum recompression
Introduction
• Recycles vapors by compressing it, which raises its pressure and temperature.
Enthalpy of vapor increases with pressure and temperature so it can be used
as a heating medium.
• Latent heat of vapor can be reused to evaporate more liquid.
• Also called “mist eliminator” or “demister”
Applications:

• Food & beverage industry for juice concentration, milk evaporation

• Desalination of seawater
• Wastewater treatment, recovery of water from industrial effluent
• Pulp and paper, chemical, pharma industries
 Advantages:
Disadvantages:

• Energy saving
• High initial cost of
• Ideal for heat-sensitive
pumping/compressors/ejectors
materials
• Reduces steam consumption • Requires constant maintenance

• Reduces cooling water needs • Corrosive vapors can damage

(less condensation) compressor
• Environmental friendly- lowers
carbon footprint
THANK YOU !