Vaporizing

Equipment
Vaporizing Equipment
• There are two principal types of tubular vaporizing equipment used in
industry: boilers and vaporizing exchangers
• Boilers are directly fired tubular apparatus which primarily convert
fuel energy into latent heat of vaporization
• Vaporizing exchangers are unfired and convert the latent or sensible
heat of one fluid into the latent heat of vaporization of another
Definition
• Any unfired exchanger in which one fluid undergoes vaporization and
which is not a part of an evaporation or distillation process is a
vaporizer
• If the vapor formed is steam, the exchanger is referred to as an
evaporator
• If a vaporizing exchanger is used to supply the heat requirements of a
distillation process as vapors at the bottom of a distilling column, it is
a reboiler
Vaporizer
• Vaporizers are called upon to fulfill the multitude of latent-heat
services which are not a part of evaporative of distillation processes
• The most commonest type of vaporizer is the ordinary horizontal 1–2
exchanger or one of its modification
• Vaporization may occur in the shell or in the tubes
• If steam is the heating medium, the corrosive action of air in the hot
condensate usually makes it advantageous to carry out the
vaporization in the shell
Rule in Vaporizer
• The feed to a vaporizer should not be vaporized completely
• If lest than 100% of the feed is vaporized in a 1 – 2 exchanger, the residual
liquid can be counted on to prevent the accumulation of dirt directly on the
surface of the heating element
• A maximum of about 80% vaporization appears to provide favorable
operation in 1 – 2 exchangers
• Since it is desirable to vaporize only 80% of the quantity of vapor required,
the total liquid entering will be 125% of the quantity of vapor required
• Even better cleanliness will result if < 80% vaporization
• This can be accomplished by recirculation of liquid
Forced vs Natural Circulation
Example 15.2
It is desired to provide 19.750 lb/hr of butane vapor at 285 psi using
cold feed from storage at 75 oF. The butane will boil isothermally at 235
oF, and steam will be available at 100 psi

Available for the service in a 15 ¼ in. ID 1 – 2 exchanger with 76 1 in.

OD, 16 BWG tubes 16’0” long laid out on 1 ¼ in square pitch for two
passes. The baffles are spaced 5 in. apart.

What will the dirt factor and pressure drops be?

Solution
• To prevent total vaporization in the shell, the total liquid entering the vaporizer
will be 19.750 / 0,8 = 24.700 lb/hr.
• The vapor (19.750 lb/jam) should then be disengaged from the liquid (4.950
lb/jam) in a drum.
• The excess liquid returned to the pump suction for recombination with 19.750
lb/hr of fresh feed.
• Thus for every 19.750 lb/hr coming from storage at 75 oF will be mixed to 4.950
lb/hr at 235 oF, so that the inlet temperature will be 108 oF
Reboiler
Kettle & Thermosyphon Reboiler
Evaporator
Multi Effect Evaporator
• In order to maintain temperature difference for heat transfer between the
vapor from one effect and the boiling liquid of the next effect, the pressure
on each succeeding evaporator must be lower than its predecessor
• The main measures of evaporator performance are capacity and economy.
Capacity is defined as the amount of solvent that can be evaporated per
unit area per unit time. While the economy is defined as the mass of
solvent evaporated per unit mass of steam used
• In a single effect evaporator economy value is always < 1.0, but in multi-
effect evaporators the value could be much higher
• Another indicator that is often used is steam consumption (mass of steam
per unit time)