Evaporation

KEVIN A. OLEGARIO

BS Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Chemical Engineering

Cebu Institute of Technology - University, N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient in
an evaporator and to study the effects of the temperature drop and liquor level on the capacity
of the evaporator. This was done by running a single evaporator on different pressure values.
During a single run of the experiment the following were measured in order to calculate for
the overall heat transfer: (1) the amount and temperature of the water fed (2) the temperature
and pressure of the steam and vapor (3) The weight of the condensate and (4) the weight of
the steam condensate from trap. The overall heat transfer coefficients for different pressures
were calculated by this formula q=UA∆T. The results show that pressure is directly
proportional to the overall heat transfer coefficient and temperature drop is inversely
proportional to the overall heat transfer coefficient.
1. Introduction

The objective of this experiment is to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient in
an evaporator and to study the effects of the temperature drop and liquor level on the capacity
of the evaporator.

Evaporation is the process of removing the vapor from a boiling liquid solution and
the remaining solution is more concentrated. The pressure and temperature of the process of
evaporation and also the type of equipment can affect the physical and chemical properties of
the solution to be concentrated and the vapor desired to remove. Some of the factors that
affect the processing methods of evaporation are (1) concentration in the liquid, (2)
temperature sensitivity of the materials, (3) foaming or frothing, (4) pressure and
temperature, (5) scale deposition and materials of construction. During the evaporation
process, to vaporize the solvent which is usually water, heat is added. The heat is generally
supplied by the condensation of the vapor in the form of steam and is located on one side of
the metal surface and the evaporating liquid on the other side. For this experiment the
evaporator that will be use is the single evaporator.

Figure 1. Simplified diagram of single effect evaporator

To solve for the overall heat-transfer coefficient the general formula used is

q=UA∆T

Where q is the rate of the heat transfer in W, U is the overall heat-transfer coefficient
in W/m^2K, A is the heat transfer area in m^2 and ∆T is the difference between the
temperature of the condensing steam and the boiling point of the liquid in K.
2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials and Apparatuses

Evaporator Westphal Balance
Condenser Water
Steam Trap Pail
2.2 Methods
The feed was measured by a water meter and was introduced into the
evaporator through a valve up to the predetermined level on water gage. The pressure
reducing valve was set into the desired pressure as the steam was introduced into the
steam chest. The steam obtained from the trap was passed through a cooler and
collected afterwards. The feed was introduced continuously at a rate enough to
maintain the desired level in the evaporator. To attain the equilibrium conditions, the
evaporator was run for 30 minutes and then data were taken over at 10 minute
interval. The measurements taken were the quantity and temperature of water
introduced, temperatures and pressures of the steam and vapor, weight of condensate
from condenser, and weight of steam condensate from trap. The experiment was
repeated at different pressure values.

3. Results and Discussion

Table 3.1 shows the raw data for the collected amount of steam, the collected
condensate, and the pressure recorded every after 10 minute interval.

Run Number

1 2 3 4 5 6

Pressure, kPa 110.32 110.32 124.106 124.106 131 137.895

Pressure, psi 16 16 18 18 19 20

W1, g (+ pail) 6125 4200 6700 5500 5800 6475

W2, g (+ pail) 520 575 2550 2480 2600 3175

weight of pail 600 500 600 600 500 500

Table 3.1 Raw data for the collected steam, collected condensate, and pressure
 In Table 3.2, the calculated data is shown as well as the data for the latent heats which
was taken from the Perry’s Chemical Handbook.

Run Number
Symbol Item
1 2 3 4 5 6

θmin Time, min 10 10 10 10 10 10

W1 Steam used, kg 5.6 3.7 6.1 4.9 5.3 6.0

t1 Steam temp, °C 102.4 102.4 105.8 105.8 107.4 108.9

λ1 Latent heat of steam, kJ/kg 2250.6 2250.6 2241.5 2241.5 2237.2 2233.2

W2 Water evaporated, kg 0.020 0.075 2.050 1.980 2.100 2.675

t2 Temp of vapor, °C 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

λS Latent heat of vapor, kJ/kg 2256.9 2256.9 2256.9 2256.9 2256.9 2256.9

t3 Temp of feed, °C 31.0 31.0 31.0 31.0 31.0 31.0

q1 Heat supplied by steam, kJ 12495.2 8327.1 13673.2 10983.4 11857.2 13343.5

q2 Radiation loss from steam chest, kJ 45.1 169.3 4626.6 4468.7 4739.5 6037.2

Q Heat through heating surface, kJ 12495.2 8327.1 13673.2 10983.4 11857.2 13343.5

Δt Apparent temp. drop, °C 2.4 2.4 5.8 5.8 7.3 8.8

U Apparent over-all coefficient 5421.5 3613.0 2453.1 1970.5 1672.9 1563.5

q3 Heat in vapor above feed temp, kJ 45.2 169.4 4638.5 4480.1 4754.9 6060.9

q4 Total heat loss by radiation, kJ 12450.0 8157.7 9034.7 6503.2 7102.2 7282.6

H1 Heat loss, % 99.6 97.9 65.3 58.3 58.7 53.0

E kg H2O evaporated/kg steam used 0.004 0.020 0.336 0.404 0.396 0.448

Table 3.2 Calculated data from the raw data

4. Discussions
Since the evaporator cannot be fed continuously, there can be no data collected for it.
Also the maximum pressure for the evaporator is only 20 psi so the pressures are only limited
to that value.

Values for the latent heat of steam and vapor were taken from the Perry’s Chemical
Engineering Handbook using the pressure recorded.
 From the data collected, it can be seen that the amount of steam collected as well as
the amount of condensate collected increases as the pressure inside the evaporator increases.

Also, the total heat loss in the evaporator by radiation decreases as the pressure
increases as well as the over-all coefficient of the evaporator. It can also be seen that the ratio
of the amount of condensate to the amount of steam used increases as the pressure increases.
The % heat loss calculated for the evaporator is quite big, it might be because the evaporator
was not run for 30 minutes before collecting data.

5. Conclusion
The water level in the evaporator is inversely proportional to the temperature drop,
temperature drop is inversely proportional all heat-transfer coefficient and pressure is directly
proportional to the overall heat-transfer coefficient. The errors in the calculations might be
caused by not running the evaporator for 30 minutes to attain equilibrium.

Appendices

A. Equations
Equation A.1 q1 = W11 q4
Equation A.5 H1 = *100
q1
Equation A.2 q2 = W2S
W2
Equation A.3 q3 = W2 [2 + t ] Equation A.6 E=
W1

Equation A.4 q4 = q1 - q3 Q /
Equation A.7 U=
At

B. Sample Calculation
Area = 17.3 ft2 = 1.60722259 m2 12449.9792
H1 = *100 = 99.63%
12495.165
q1 = 5.552(2250.57) = 12495.165
0.02
q2 = 0.02(2256.90) = 45.138 E= = 0.0036
5.552
q3 = 0.02[2256.90 + (2.39)(1.0)] = 45.1858 12495.165(1000)
10(60)
U= = 5421.5
1.60722259(2.39)
q4 = 12495.165 - 45.1858 = 12449.9792
References
[1] Chemical Engineering Department Laboratory Manual for ChE 402 (Chemical
Engineering Laboratory 1)
[2] Geankoplis, Transport Processes and Unit Operations. John Wiley & Sons