MULTIPLE EFFECT EVAPORATION

The chief factor influencing the economy of an evaporator system is the number of
effects. By increasing the number of effects we can increase the economy of an evaporator
system. The first effect of a multiple effect evaporator is the effect to which the raw steam is fed,
vapors obtained from first effect act as a heating medium for another effect.

EVAPORATION

Evaporation is an unit operation by which a solvent is evaporated from a solution by

boiling the liquor in a suitable vessel and withdrawing the vapor, leaving a concentrated
liquid residue
It simply means vaporization from the surface of the liquid.

EVAPORATOR

An evaporator is essentially a heat exchanger in which a liquid is boiled to give a vapour,

so that it is also, simultaneously, a low pressure steam generator.
It may be possible to make use of this, to treat an evaporator as a low pressure boiler, and
to make use of the steam thus produced for further heating in another following
evaporator called another effect.

LIQUID CHARACTERISTICS

1. Concentration
Although the thin liquor fed to an evaporator may be sufficiently dilute to have many of
the physical properties of water, as the concentration increases, the solution becomes
more and more individualistic.

2. Foaming
Some materials, especially organic substances, foam during vaporization. A stable foam
accompanies the vapor out of the evaporator, causing heavy entrainment.

3. Temperature Sensitivity
Many fine chemical, pharmaceutical products and food are damaged when heated to
moderate temperatures for relatively short times.

4. Scale
Some solutions deposit scale on the heating surface. The overall coefficient the steadily
diminishes, until the evaporator must be shut down and the tubes cleaned.
5. Materials of Construction
Whenever possible, evaporators are made of some kind of steel. Many solution, however,
attack ferrous metals or are contaminated by them.

| AGUDA | ALDOVINO, J. | ALDOVINO, J.B.

MULTIPLE EFFECT EVAPORATOR

It is an important procedure adopted to economize the consumption of energy.

They are designed to economize the consumption of energy. These are designed in such
a way that the steam from an outside source is condensed in the heating element of first
effect.
Further for second effect the boiling temperature of first effect is just too high that
evaporated water can serve as the heating medium. The formed vapors than send to
condenser, if it is the double effect evaporator.

The feed is generally transferred from the one effect to another, which leads to ultimate product
concentration which further reaches to one effect of evaporator.

In single effect evaporator steam is used to heat the liquids which provides the latent heat
of vaporization. The vapors are condensed in the condenser where the latent is given up
to the cooling water and it goes to waste.
To avoid this wastage two evaporators are connected together with the piping
arrangement so that the vapor from the calandria of the first effect is used to heat the
calandria of the second effect . This means that the calandria of the second effect is used
as a condenser for the first time. So that the latent heat of vaporization is used to evaporate
more quantity of the liquid instead of its going as waste. The vapor from the second effect
then taken to a condenser and converted in to the liquids.

HISTORY AND EXAMPLES

The multiple-effect evaporator was invented by an African-American inventor and

engineer Norbert Rillieux. Although he may have designed the apparatus during the
1820s and constructed a prototype in 1834, he did not build the first industrially practical
evaporator until 1845.
Originally designed for concentrating sugar in sugar cane juice, it has since become widely
used in all industrial applications where large volumes of water must be evaporated, such
as salt production and water desalination.
Multiple-effect evaporation plants in sugar beet factories have up to eight effects. Six
effect evaporators are common in the recovery of black liquor in the kraft process for
making wood pulp.

Multiple effect evaporation commonly uses sensible heat in the condensate to preheat
liquor to be flashed. In practice the design liquid flow paths can be somewhat complicated
in order to extract the most recoverable heat and to obtain the highest evaporation rates
from the equipment.

METHODS OF FEEDING

1. Forward Feeding

| AGUDA | ALDOVINO, J. | ALDOVINO, J.B.

 2. Backward Feeding
3. Mixed Feeding
4. Parallel Feeding

Forward Feed Arrangement

The feed and steam introduced in the first effect and pressure in the first effect is
highest and pressure in last effect is minimum, so transfer of feed from one effect to
another can be done without pump.

Backward Feed Arrangement

The feed is introduced in last effect and steam is introduced in first effect. For transfer
of feed, it requires pump since the flow is from low pressure to higher pressure.
Concentrated liquid is obtained in first effect.

Mixed Feed Arrangement

The feed is introduced in intermediate effect, flows in forward feed to the end of the
series and is then pumped back to the first effect for final concentration. This permits
the final evaporation to be done at the highest temperature.

Parallel Feed Arrangement

Parallel feed is more common in crystallization where feed is admitted individually to
all the effects.
With the increasing trend in the cost of coal, fuel oil it becomes to use the vapors of
previous effect in the steam chest of following effect. This requires the multiple effect
evaporator system. As the number of effect increases the steam economy increases on
the other side capital cost will be more.

ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE EFFECT EVAPORATOR SYSTEM

The increase in economy with multiple-effect evaporation is obtained at the cost of

reduced capacity. The total capacity of a multiple-effect evaporator is usually no greater
than that of a single-effect evaporator having a heating surface equal to one of the effects
and operating under the same terminal conditions, and, when there is an appreciable
boiling-point elevation, is often considerably smaller.

VARIABLES OF MULTIPLE EFFECT EVAPORATOR

Geometrical Variables - It is the area of heat transfer surface in each effect of an

evaporator. Hence, N-effect evaporator will have N number of geometrical variables.
Operating Variables - They include: feed temperature, feed concentration, feed flow rate,
and steam temperature (pressure), saturation temperature (pressure) in the last effect.
Feed arrangement is also one of the operating variables.
Self Balancing Variables - As regards the vapor and liquid streams from each effect of
a multiple effect evaporator, they cannot be changed independently by a plant engineer.

| AGUDA | ALDOVINO, J. | ALDOVINO, J.B.

 Therefore, they are self-balancing streams. The variables associated with these streams
are: flow rate, temperature and concentration of liquid streams; and saturation
temperature (pressure) of each effect.

APPLICATIONS

1. Product concentration
2. Solvent Volume reduction in a solution
3. Water / solvent recovery
4. Crystallization

ADVANTAGES

1. Advanced System
2. Easy Operation And Maintenance
3. Cost Effective Operations

| AGUDA | ALDOVINO, J. | ALDOVINO, J.B.