PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY

FORCED CIRCULATION
EVAPORATOR
FS&T 431 FOOD PLANT EQUIPMENT

NIDHARSHANA.S
20396012
I M.Sc., FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
5/27/2021
EVAPORATION:

Evaporation is the process of removal of solvent from a solution in the form of a

vapour, suspension or slurry. The main objective of the process is concentration of non-
volatile solute like organic compounds, inorganic salts, acids or bases from a solvent. The
most common solvent to be evaporated is the water.

Evaporation process differs from other mass transfer operations like distillation and
drying. In distillation, the separation is based on the distribution based on volatility in liquid
and vapour phases. Whereas in drying, moisture is removed from the product in presence
of hot air stream that carries away the moisture with it. But in evaporation, the process is
stopped before the solute precipitates in the evaporator.

Invention of evaporators:

Norbert Rillieux is famous for his invention of the multiple effect pan evaporator
for sugar refining process in 1881. He used the steam generated from one pan to heat the
sugar juice in the next pan for energy efficient means of water evaporation.

Classification of evaporators:
Evaporators are often classified as follows:

(1) heating medium separated from evaporating liquid by tubular heating surfaces,

(2) heating medium confined by coils, jackets, double walls, flat plates, etc.,

(3) heating medium brought into direct contact with evaporating liquid, and

(4) heating with solar radiation.

Type of evaporators:
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. The common types include
 Stirrer evaporators
 Rising film evaporators
 Circulation evaporators
  Forced circulation evaporators
 Falling film evaporators
 Fluidized bed evaporators
 Plate evaporators
 Batch type pan evaporators

FORCED CIRCULATION EVAPORATORS:

Any type of evaporator that uses pump to force circulation of fluids in higher
velocities through heat exchanger tubes is called forced circulation evaporator. The
evaporator consists of a long tube in which force is used to drive the liquid through it,
producing high tube velocities. Here, heat is produced by steam condensation. A high
efficiency circulating pump, designed for large volume and sufficient head, is used to
supply the force. Proper design results in controlled temperature rise, controlled
temperature difference and tube velocities that give optimum heat transfer.

Need for forced circulation:

Forced circulation evaporators are costlier than natural circulation evaporators. But
the natural circulation evaporators are not suitable in the following situations:

 Solutions that are highly viscous due to low heat transfer coefficient
 Solutions with suspended particles
 Materials that are heat sensitive or thermolabile

These problems maybe overcome by circulating the liquid at high velocity through
the heat exchanger tubes to inhibit particle deposition and enhance heat transfer rate.

Basic components:

The main components of forced circulation evaporators are as follows:

 Tubular (1-1)/(1-2) shell and tube heat exchanger – horizontal or vertical. The
heating unit has steam jacketed tubes.
 Flash chamber (separator) with vapour outlet at top above heat exchanger
 Circulating centrifugal pump
 Inlets are provided for steam and feed.
 Outlets are provided for vapour, concentrated products, non-condensed gases
and condensate.

VERTICAL TUBE FORCED-CIRCULATION EVAPORATOR

 VERTICAL TUBE FORCED-CIRCULATION EVAPORATOR

Principle and working:

In forced circulation evaporator liquid is circulated through the tubes at high pressure
by means of a pump. Hence boiling does not takes places because boiling point is elevated.
Forced circulation of the liquids also creates some form of agitation. When the liquid leaves
the tubes and enters the vapor head, pressure falls suddenly. This leads to the flashing
(partial evaporation) of super-heated liquor. The pump pumps feed and liquor from the
flash chamber and forces it through the heat exchanger tubes back to the flash chamber.
Thus, the evaporation is effected.
For viscous products, positive pumps are used and for colloidal products low power
pumps are used. A choice of forced circulation can be made only after balancing the
pumping energy cost, which is usually high, with the increase in heat transfer rates or
decrease in maintenance costs. Tube velocity is limited only by pumping costs and by
erosion at high velocities.
 Tube velocities are usually in the range of 5 to 15 feet per second. Sometimes the
pumped fluid is allowed to vaporize in the tubes. This often provides higher heat transfer
rates but increases the possibility of fouling. Consequently, this type of evaporator is
seldom used except where headroom is limited or the liquids do not scale, salt, or foul the
surface. To avoid fouling a high circulation rate is used, typically between 1.5 – 4 m/s
although this ultimately depends on the component properties and is easily manipulated by
the circulation pump. The liquid is pressurised through the heat exchanger externally by
pressure stabilisers such as valves or orifices or hydrostatically within the system. Heating
of the liquid across the heat exchanger is kept minimal with a standard temperature
difference of 2 - 3 K. The overall heat transfer coefficient for vertical forced circulation
evaporator is 2000 - 7500 Wm-2°C-1.
This results in a high recirculation ratio within the range of 100–150 kg of liquid
(solvent) recirculated per Kg of vapor removed. These high recirculation rates result in
high liquor velocities through the tube and in turn minimize the buildup of crystals, other
deposits and in turn minimize fouling.
The majority of applications are designed such that vaporization does not occur in
the tubes. Instead, the process liquid is recirculated by pumping, heated under pressure to
prevent boiling, and subsequently flashed to obtain the required vaporization. These are
therefore suited for vacuum operation. This type of evaporator is often called the
submerged-tube type because the heating element is placed below the liquid level and use
the resulting hydrostatic head to prevent boiling (often even in a plugged tube that is at the
steam temperature). Often restrictions are provided in the return line to suppress boiling in
order to reduce the headroom required. The heating element may be installed vertically
usually single pass or horizontally, often two pass.

Circulation Pumps:
Factors which must be considered when establishing the pumping rates
include:
 Maximum fluid temperature permitted
 Vapor pressure of the fluid
 Equipment layout
 Tube geometry
 Velocity in the tubes
 Temperature difference between the pumped fluid and the utility fluid
 Characteristics of pumps available for the service.

Circulation pumps should be selected so that the developed head is dissipated as

pressure drops through the system. It is important that the pump and system match. The
fluid being pumped is at or near its boiling point, and the required NPSH (net positive
suction head) may be critical. The pump should operate at its design level. If it develops
excessive head, it will handle more volume at a lower head. At the new operating point,
the required NPSH may be more than is available, and cavitation will occur in the pump.
If insufficient head is provided, the velocities may not be sufficiently high to prevent
fouling; lower heat transfer rates may result; or the fluid may boil in the heating element
with subsequent fouling or decomposition.
Designing a forced circulation evaporator requires the following:
 Heat transferred
 Liquid vapor separation
 Energy consumption efficiency.

All of these must be maximized in to create an efficient system. As circulation and

heating are maintained for the system, liquid temperatures and flow rates can be controlled
specifically to suit the product requirements and as such optimum tube velocities can be
reached resulting in an efficiently designed system.
Forced Circulation Evaporators have high velocity liquid velocity and therefore a
high turbulence that results in high heat transfer coefficients. The system contains
positive circulation, freedom from high fouling, scaling or salting.
Concentration values of forced circulation evaporators can handle more than the
limits of conventional tubular evaporators when handling feed with dissolved salts and is
often used as a finishing evaporator for concentration of liquids to high solid content
following low solids multi-stage, MVR(Mechanical vapour recompression) or TVR
(Thermal vapour recompression) evaporation. Multiple heating effects can be used to
increase thermal efficiency. In this system design extracted vapor is used as a heating
medium for the 2nd heating effect at a lower pressure than the first effect. This can be
repeated for multiple effects.
In food and beverage industry, secondary steam units are used to enhance
circulation. When higher efficiencies are to be achieved, multiple effect evaporator can be
used. Other type of forced circulation evaporators are
 Plate forced circulation evaporators
 Tubular forced circulation evaporator
 Based on the heating unit – horizontal and vertical forced circulation
evaporator.

Advantages:
1. Heat transfer coefficient is high.
2. Salting, scaling and fouling are not possible due to forced circulation.
3. Suitable for high viscous preparations.
 4. In forced circulation evaporator there is a rapid liquid movement due to high heat
transfer coefficient.
5. This evaporator is suitable for themo labile substances because of rapid evaporation.
6. Low temperature reduces overcooking.
7. Risk of burning is minimized because the heat exchanger is continuously wet.
8. Reduced downtime for cleaning.

Disadvantages:

1. Equipment is expensive.
2. More power supply is Required.
3. Relatively high residence time; and necessary pumps with associated maintenance
and operating costs.

Applications:
1. Forced circulation evaporator is commonly used in food and beverage industry for
tomato juice concentrate – tropical and berry, fruit concentrate and where the
evaporation does not alter the characteristics of raw material.
2. concentration of caustic and brine solutions and also in evaporation of corrosive
solution.
3. This method is used for the concentration of insulin and liver extracts in pharma
industries.
4. It is well suited for crystallizing operation where crystals are to be suspended at all
times.
5. Since evaporation is conducted under reduced pressure, forced circulation
evaporator is suitable for thermolabile substances.

References:

 Minton P.E, 1986, Handbook of Evaporation Technology, Pg.No.: 84-87, ISBN: 0-

8155-1097-7
 APV Americas, Handbook of evaporators, 4th edition.