Boilers and Condensers Yuan

Condensing and Boiling Heat
Transfer
Chemical Engineering Design

Condensing Heat Transfer
Kondensasi adalah suatu proses untuk merubah suatu gas
atau uap menjadi cairan
Gas dapat berubah menjadi cair dengan menurunkan

temperaturnya (from saturation temperature) atau
meningkatkan tekanan
Umumnya, pendekatan yang digunakan adalah dengan

menurunkan temperatur, sedangkan dengan meningkatkan
tekanan gas lebih mahal
Perilaku kondensasi juga terjadi di banyak heat exchanger

apabila uap air (vapor) didinginkan dibawah dew point-nya

Condensation
occurs when the surface temperature is less than the
saturation temperature of an adjoining vapor
heat is transferred from vapor the surface to the surface

PT Diagram

Untuk tekanan yang sama, uap lebih mudah dikondensasi
sedangkan gas normalnya non-condensable
The primary function of a condenser is to remove latent

heat, although it is sometimes necessary to remove
sensible heat as well. Examples include:
distillation columns
reactors
steam heaters, reboilers
power plants
refrigeration systems

Modes of condensation
Based on physical mechanism (indirect contact):
Dropwise : liquid does not wet the surface, droplets
are formed, occurs if the surface is coated with a
substance that inhibits wetting, silicones, teflon,
assortment of waxes and fatty acid. Heat transfer
coefficient is about 4 to 8 times higher for drop
wise condensation.
Filmwise condensation : liquid wets the surface,
smooth film is formed. The heat transfer coefficient is
lower for film condensation due to the resistance of
this liquid film.
Direct contact
Homogeneous condensation
Dropwise Condensation

Filmwise Condensation

Direct Contact Condensation

Homogenous Condensation

General Approach to Condensation

General Approach to Condensation

Condensation: Film Condensation
Radial Systems: Single Tubes/Spheres
1
g l l v hfgkl3 4
hD C
l Tsat Ts D
Tube: C =0.729
Sphere: C=0.826

Condensation: Film Condensation
Radial Systems: Vapor Flow in a Horizontal Tube
if vapor flow rate is low, condensation in both circumferential and axial
directions
vum,vD
Re v,i 35,000
v i
1
g l l v hfgkl3 4
hD 0.555
l Tsat Ts D
hfg hfg 0.375 Tsat Ts
for high flow rates, flow is two-phase annular flow

Condensation: Dropwise
Condensation
Dropwise Condensation
heat transfer rates ~order of magnitude greater than film condensation
heat transfer coefficients highly dependant on surface properties
Steam on copper with surface coating

hdc 51104 2044Tsat W m2K 22 C Tsat 100 C
hdc 255510 W m2K Tsat 100 C

Condensing vapor may be a single component or a
mixture, with or without the presence of
noncondensibles. Usually, mixed vapors are condensed
inside tubes, while single components are condensed on
the outside of tubes.
Condensers are typically shell and tube exchangers with

multiple tube passes. The heat is removed by contacting
vapor with a cold surface (the tube wall). The liquid then
flows off the tube under the influence of gravity, collects,
and flows out of the exchanger.

Basic Anatomy of Condenser

A condenser is a type of heat exchanger in which vapors are
transferred into liquid state by removing the latent heat with
the help of a coolant such as water.
Condensers may be classified into two main types:

1. Those in which the coolant and condensing vapor are
brought into direct contact.
2. Those in which the coolant and condensate stream are
separated by a solid surface, usually a tube wall

Types of Condensers
i. Vertical condenser
Downflow vertical condenser: The vapor enters at the top of
condenser and flows down inside tubes. The condensate drains from
the tubes by gravity and vapor induced shear
Upflow vertical condenser: In case of upflow condenser, the vapor

enters at the bottom and flows upwards inside the tubes. The
condensate drains down the tubes by gravity only.
ii. Horizontal condenser:
The condensation may occur inside or outside the horizontal tubes.

Condensation in the tube-side is common in air-cooled condensers.
The main disadvantage of this type of condenser is that the liquid
tends to build up in the tubes. Therefore the effective heat transfer
co-efficient is reduced significantly.

Horizontal condenser with
condensation outside horizontal
tubes
Downflow vertical condenser

with condensation inside tube

Two Types of Condenser
Total Condenser Partial Condenser
No incondensible materials Some vapor components dont

in vapor phase condense (distillate is vapor, reflux is
liquid)
Heat transfer coefficient
determined by thermal Heat transfer coefficient determined by
resistances only thermal and mass transfer resistances
Therefore much lower h.t.c.

Liquid film Liquid film
Concentration
Concentration profile of
profile
condensing component
Temperature Temperature
profile profile
Vapor film with high

concentration of non-condensibles
Partial Condensers
Condensing molecules (e.g. water) have to diffuse through
noncondensibles (e.g. air)
Diffusion resistance decreases coefficient

Big difference to size of exchanger
Need to design for accumulation of noncondensibles even in total

condensers
Provide a vent at the top of the exchanger
Manually vent as often as required by experience
To keep noncondensibles out of steam system, boiler feed water is

degassed by steam stripping

Different Types of Condensers
1. Double pipe and multiple pipe
2. Plate Condensers
3. Air-Cooled Condensers
4. Compact Condensers
5. Shell & tube type

Condenser Design
The design of condenser is similar to a typical shell and
tube exchangers. A condenser must have a vent for
removal of non-condensable gas. The non-condensable
gas decreases the heat transfer rate. Condenser usually
use a wider baffle spacing of B = Ds (ID of shell) as the
allowable pressure drop in shell side vapor is usually
less. Vertical cut-segmental baffles are generally used in
condensers for side-to-side vapor flow and not for top to
bottom. An opening at the bottom of the baffles is
provided to allow draining of condensate.

Bundle Effects On Heat Transfer
Liquid Condensate Film Usually, mixed vapors are
condensed inside tubes, while
single components are condensed
Tubes in bundle on the outside of tubes.
Condensate draining
from tubes above
creates constant Condensate draining from tubes
rippling and above increases condensate level
turbulence which on tubes below which decreases
improves condensing condensing coefficient.
coefficient
Main Resistance to Heat Transfer on the

Condensing Side is the Liquid Film.

Multicomponent condensation is always nonisothermal
In order to design the condenser, temperature and

condensation profiles and diffusion coefficients must be
evaluated at various points in the condenser.
Noncondensable gases offer resistance to the rate of

condensation in terms of both heat and mass transfer
because the condensable vapor must diffuse to the cool
surface.

Approximate h Values for
Condensation
Vapor Condensing (Shell Side or Tube Side) h (Btu/(hr.ft2.F))
Steam 1500
Steam, 10% non-condensable 600
Pure Light Hydrocarbons 250-300
Mixed Light Hydrocarbons 175-250
Gasoline 150-220
Gasoline-steam mixtures 200
Medium Hydrocarbons 100
Medium hydrocarbons with steam 125
Pure Organic solvents 250
Ammonia 600
Note: Coefficients are based on 3/4 inch diameter tubes. For Tube side flows, correct by
multiplying by 0.75/Actual OD.

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium for Multi-component Systems
Consider a binary mixture with components A and B.
Vapor
YA (PA)
YB (PB)
Liquid heating
XAo Liquid
XBo XA
XB
Note: X, Y = mole fractions of the component in the

vapor and liquid phases, respectively.
Multicomponent systems: These are systems or

processes in which gas and liquid phases that contain
multiple chemical species are brought into contact. One
usually wants to know how each chemical species distributes
itself between the phases; e.g. in order to design a liquid-
liquid extraction process you would need to know to what
extent the solubility of the extract species varies between the
two liquid phases (you want its solubility to be high in the
extract phase, and low in theraffinate phase). To
determine the compositions of phases in equilibrium, one
can resort to tabulated data (if available) or to calculations
based on phase-equilibrium thermodynamics.

For multi-component systems,
Pi = f(xi)
This functional relationship is given by
1. Raoults Law generally used when xi is close to 1.
2. Henrys Law generally used when xi is close to 0.

Henrys Law:
Pi = xiHi
where Pi = partial pressure of component i in the vapor phase.
= yiPT (if the vapor behaves ideally)
xi = mole fraction of component i in the liquid phase.
Hi = Henrys law constant

Raoults Law:
Pi = xiP*i
where Pi = partial pressure of component i in the vapor
phase.
= yiPT (if the vapor behaves ideally)
xi = mole fraction of component i in the liquid phase.
PT = total pressure
P*I = vapor pressure of pure liquid i

If the vapor behaves ideally, the Raoults law becomes
yiPT = xiP*i
Rearranging the equation,
yi/xi = P*i/PT= Ki
where Ki is the V-L equilibrium constant.

The Gibbs Phase Rule
Extensive variables: Extensive variables depend on,
and reflect, the size of a chemical system. The
system could be a liquid solution, for example. Extensive
variables include the total volume, the total mass, and
the total energy contained in the system, among others.
Intensive variables: Variables that do not depend on

system size. Examples are temperature, pressure,
chemical potential, density, specific volume,
viscosity,thermal conductivity, mass fractions, mole
fractions, among others.

DF = 2 + c P (Gibbs phase rule for non-reactive system)
Where : DF : Degree of freedom

C : Component
P : Phase
The Gibbs Phase Rule is useful for understanding how

many intensive variables must be specified to fully fix

Boiling Heat Transfer
Important for design of reboilers, vaporizers
A reboiler is a heat exchanger that is used to generate

the vapor supplied to the bottom tray of a distillation
column. The liquid from the bottom of the column is
partially vaporized in the exchanger, which is usually of
the shell-and-tube type. The heating medium is most
often condensing steam, but commercial heat-transfer
fluids and other process streams are also used.
Boiling takes place either in the tubes or in the shell,

depending on the type of reboilers

Reboiler design guidelines
1. Fouling -Tube-side is easier to clean than shell-side.
2. Corrosion - corrosion or process cleanliness may dictate

the use of expensive alloys; therefore, these fluids are
placed inside tubes in order to save the cost of an alloy
shell.
3. Pressure - high pressure fluids are placed on tube side

to avoid the expense of thick walled shells. For very low
pressures (vacuum) other factors involved in the
selection of reboiler type determines the tube-side fluid.

4. Temperatures - very hot fluids are placed inside tube to
reduce shell costs. The lower stress limits at high
temperatures affect shell design the same as high
pressures.
5. Heating medium requirements may be more important

than the boiling liquid requirements.
6. Boiling fluid characteristics: Temperature sensitive liquids

require low hold up design. Boiling range and mixture
concentration together with available T affect circulation
requirements to avoid stagnation. Foaming can be better
handled inside tubes.
7. Temperature difference and type of boiling (film or

nucleate) affects the selection.
8. Space constraints; e.g., if head room is limited then
vertical units would be inappropriate or the limitation of
space for internal reboilers.
9. Enhanced surfaces are suitable only for some types.

Pool Boiling Flow Boiling
Agitation by bubbles and Agitation by bubbles and

natural convection forced convection
Occurs in kettle reboilers Occurs in thermosiphon

reboilers
High fluid velocity

Partial reboiler
Bottom product is liquid,
boil up is vapor
Very common
There is another
equilibrium stage
Total reboiler
All liquid is turned back to
vapor

Thermosiphon Reboilers
If we set the reboiler below the liquid
level in the column sump then the static
head drives liquid into the reboiler
The difference in density caused by

vaporization then sets up a circulation,
limited by pressure drop
Two-phase
return Typically design for about 25 to 33%
vaporization per pass
Hot
Utility Thermosiphon orientation can be
vertical (tubeside flow) or horizontal
(shellside flow)
Horizontal is usually cheaper, but

Saturated liquid vertical handles dirty fluids better

Thermosiphon Reboilers
Source: UOP
Double reboilers in each case
Note large vapor return pipes

Flow Regimes in Thermosiphon Tubes
Different flow regimes occur
as vapor/liquid ratio increases
Slug flow is undesirable as it

causes noise and vibration,
but is also unavoidable in
vertical thermosiphons
Annular flow is avoided by

designing for < 33%
vaporization
See section on hydraulics for

calculation of pressure drop in
two-phase flow

Kettle Reboilers
More expensive than
vapor
disengaging
space
vapor horizontal thermosiphon
heating out
Larger diameter shell for
medium in
weir same duty
Additional liquid outlet nozzle
allows for blowdown
TEMA types are (A or B) K (T
or U)
bubble
Often used as steam
heating
point
liquid in liquid
generator because of
medium
out
out
built in separator for
vapor and allowance for
blowdown

Design of kettle reboiler
1. The shell diameter is typically 40% greater than the

bundle diameter.
2. The height of the tube bundle is usually 40-60% of the

shell ID.
3. Kettle reboilers are typically designed with an overflow

weir, which creates a separate liquid product
compartment within the exchanger shell.
4. The submergence of the tube bundle is assured by an

overflow weir at height of typically 5-15 cm from the
upper surface of top most tubes.
5. Kettle designs with overflow weirs must have removable
tube bundles (U-tube bundles or TEMA S or T type
return heads).
6. If there are no overflow weirs, fixed tube sheets (non-

removable tube bundles) may be used. The liquid bath is
maintained via level control.
7. Kettle reboiler should be used in very specific

applications where it has a distinct advantage.

Advantages of kettle reboiler
1. Kettle reboilers achieve a full theoretical stage of
separation.
2. The bottom of the tower does not require baffles.
3. The tower internals do not need to separate mixed phase

fluids nor absorb large fluid forces.
4. Kettle reboilers with removable tube bundles are relatively

easy to inspect and clean.
5. Kettle reboilers can utilize higher percent vaporization than

vertical or horizontalthermosiphon reboilers, while
remaining in a stable flow regime.

Stab-in Reboilers
The tube bundle can
sometimes be fitted inside
the column sump: this saves
a shell
The behavior is similar to

kettle reboilers
The designer has to make

sure there is enough sump
height to give good level
control and pump NPSH
without exposing tubes

Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficient
I II III IV V As T between wall and
fluid increases, h
h increases at first due to
bubbles, but then vapor
blankets the surface and
the heat transfer
coefficient falls
For fired boilers this can
lead to tube failure
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000 Avoid film boiling by

T = Twall - Tfluid limiting design to
maximum critical flux
I: Natural convection heat transfer
II: Nucleate boiling with agitation by bubbles See, Chapter 19, Perrys
Handbook or good heat
III: Nucleate boiling with unstable film transfer references for
IV: Stable film boiling correlation of critical flux
V: Radiant heat transfer
Approximate h Values for Boiling
Liquid Boiling (Shell Side or Tube Side) h (Btu/(hr.ft2.F))
Water 1500
Water solutions, 50% water or more 600
Light Hydrocarbons 300
Medium Hydrocarbons 200
Freon 400
Ammonia 700
Propane 400
Butane 400
Amines 300
Alcohols 300
Glycols 200
Benzene, Toluene 200
Note: Coefficients are based on 3/4 inch diameter tubes. For Tube side flows, correct by
multiplying by 0.75/Actual OD.

Enhancement of Boiling Heat
Transfer: UOP High Flux Tubing
Porous metal coating applied to ID or OD
Porous
Coating
Tube Wall
Source: UOP
Porous boiling surface
Coating thickness 0.127mm - 0.381 mm
Strong metallurgical bond
Interconnecting Channels or Re-entrant Sites
Boiling performance ~ 10x greater than bare tube
Overall performance ~ 2-5x greater than bare tube
Magnification of High Flux Tube Surface
Cavity Coating
Source: UOP
500x Mag

Experimental Pool Boiling Curves
High Flux Tube Bare Tube
1000000
Heat Flux (W/m)
Water Water
100000
Propylene Propylene
10000
0.1 1 10 100
T (C)
Enables closer temperature approaches
High Flux Tube Products
ID Coated
OD Bare or Fluted
OD Coated
ID Bare or Finned
Source: UOP

Applications of High Flux
Reboilers
Thermosyphons (TEMA type H, J or X)
Kettles
Stab-in Bundles
Condensers (Kettles)
Boiling Refrigerant
Source: UOP

Vaporizer
Secara umum digunakan untuk menguapkan cairan, uap
yang dihasilkan digunakan untuk proses kimia, bukan
sebagai sumber panas seperti halnya steam
Jenis-Jenis Vaporizer
Vaporizer dengan sirkulasi paksa
Cairan diumpankan ke dalam vaporizer dengan menggunakan

pompa.
Vaporizer dengan sirkulasi alamiah
Cairan umpan dapat mengalir sendiri dalam vaporizer dengan

bantuan gaya gravitasi.

Prinsip kerja vaporizer
Cairan diumpankan ke dalam vaporizer kemudian
dipanaskan dengan suatu media pemanas (umpan tidak
kontak langsung dengan media pemanas). Biasanya
tidak semua umpan dapat teruapkan dengan sempurna.
Produk yang dihasilkan (uap dan cairan) dipisahkan
dalam suatu tangki pemisah. Uap yang dihasilkan
kemudian digunakan untuk proses selanjutnya, cairan
yang tidak menguap di recycle kembali.

Evaporation
Evaporation is the removal of solvent as a vapor from a
solution or slurry
Evaporation is used for concentration of aqueous solutions,

it involves removal of water from solution by boiling the
liquor in suitable vessel called evaporator and withdrawing
the vapor
In evaporation thick liquor is a valuable product and vapor

is usually wasted e.g. concentration of fruit juices or urea
concentration
In rare cases, vapor is valuable product, e.g. Mineral-

bearing water evaporation to get boiler feed water, or sea
water evaporation to get portable water.
Evaporation vs
boiling/drying/distillation/crystilization
Evaporation occurs at liquid-vapor interface when vapor
pressure is less than saturation pressure of the liquid at a
given temperature
Boiling occurs at solid-liquid interface when liquid is brought

into contact with a surface at temp Ts
Evaporation differs from drying b/c residue is always a liquid
It differs from distillation b/c vapor is a single component and

even if it is a mixture, no attempt is made to split it into
fractions
It differs from crystallization b/c we want to concentrate the

solution rather than forming and building crystals
Classification of liquids to be
Evaporated
A) Those which can be heated to high temp without
decomposition and those which can only be heated
to 330 K
B) Those which yield solids on concentration and

those which do not
C) Those which, at a given pressure, boil at same

temp as water, and those which have much higher
boiling point

Evaporator
Exchanger which is used to concentrate a solution

consisting of a non-volatile solute and a volatile
solvent, is called an evaporator
Evaporator Main Parts
Feed Inlet, Concentrate outlet, Steam jacket, steam

condensate outlet, sight glass, vapor head & vapor
outlet, heating section etc

Evaporator Types/Classification
A) based on heating media

B) Based on Effect
1. Single effect evaporators
2. Multiple effect evaporators
C) Based on circulation of liquor over heating surface

1. Natural Circulation Units
2. Forced Circulation Units
3. Film type (wiped film) evaporators

Different Evaporators

Batch Pan
Oldest type and used for limited application
Either jacketed/internal coils/heaters
Product residence time is many hours
Boil at low temp and high pressure for heat

sensitive materials
heat transfer area and coefficients are low under

natural circulation
Evaporation capacities are low
Large temp differences not achieved b/c of rapid

fouling of heating surface

Used for concentration of Jams and Jellies, also for
some pharmaceutical products

Natural Circulation Units
Circulation is obtained by convection currents arising

from heating surface
A) Tubes are horizontal with steam inside
solution to be evaporated boils outside the tubes and

steam condenses inside of tubes. These tubes interfere
with natural circulation and minimize liquid agitation.
Overall heat transfer coefficients are lower
B) Tubes are vertical with steam outside

a. Tubes are horizontal with steam inside

Cylindrical section above heating portion is used to
separate vapor from liquid
vapor leaves through de-entraining device to

prevent carry over of liquid droplets with vapor
Steam enters through one side chest and leaves

through opposite chest
Steam condensate out via steam trap

Advantages
1. Cheap
2. Easy to install
3. Require less space for installation
4. Suitable for liquids that not crystallize
5. Can be used for batch/continuous operation
Disadvantages
1. Not suitable for viscous liquids b/c of poor

circulation

B) Tubes are vertical with steam outside
Solution boils inside vertical tubes with heating

media, usually steam, held in steam chest, through
which tubes pass.
Boiling of liquid in tubes, causes liquid flow upward

through tubes and un-evaporated liquid flows
downward through central hole

These overcome disadvantages of horizontal tube
evaporators
1. natural circulation is promoted(1-3 ft/s)
2. heat transfer coefficients are higher
3. solid built inside tubes is removed by mechanical cleaning
4. Viscous liquids can be used, but circulation is slow
5. Used in sugar and salt industries
These are impractical when solution is very viscous or form

foams or is heat sensitive


Boilers and Condensers Yuan

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Condensing and Boiling Heat

Chemical Engineering Design

Gas dapat berubah menjadi cair dengan menurunkan

Umumnya, pendekatan yang digunakan adalah dengan

Perilaku kondensasi juga terjadi di banyak heat exchanger

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

The primary function of a condenser is to remove latent

steam heaters, reboilers

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

hfg hfg 0.375 Tsat Ts

for high flow rates, flow is two-phase annular flow

Chemical Engineering Design

Steam on copper with surface coating

Chemical Engineering Design

Condensers are typically shell and tube exchangers with

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Condensers may be classified into two main types:

Chemical Engineering Design

Upflow vertical condenser: In case of upflow condenser, the vapor

ii. Horizontal condenser:

The condensation may occur inside or outside the horizontal tubes.

Chemical Engineering Design

Downflow vertical condenser

Chemical Engineering Design

No incondensible materials Some vapor components dont

Therefore much lower h.t.c.

Vapor film with high

Diffusion resistance decreases coefficient

Need to design for accumulation of noncondensibles even in total

To keep noncondensibles out of steam system, boiler feed water is

Chemical Engineering Design

5. Shell & tube type

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Main Resistance to Heat Transfer on the

Chemical Engineering Design

In order to design the condenser, temperature and

Noncondensable gases offer resistance to the rate of

Chemical Engineering Design

Chemical Engineering Design

Consider a binary mixture with components A and B.

Note: X, Y = mole fractions of the component in the

Multicomponent systems: These are systems or

Chemical Engineering Design

For multi-component systems,

This functional relationship is given by

1. Raoults Law generally used when xi is close to 1.

2. Henrys Law generally used when xi is close to 0.

Chemical Engineering Design

= yiPT (if the vapor behaves ideally)

xi = mole fraction of component i in the liquid phase.

Hi = Henrys law constant

Chemical Engineering Design

where Pi = partial pressure of component i in the vapor