Climbing Film Evaporator

Teaching objectives

• Continuous concentration of a solution by evaporation
• Influence of operating conditions
• Thermal balance and mass balance

Equipment

• Polyethylene feed solution tank
• Feed metering pump with AISI 316L stainless steel body and P.T.F.E. diaphragm, manual control
• Climbing film evaporator in AISI 316L stainless steel, jacket steam heating, removable insulation
• Cylindro-conical borosilicate glass cyclone for liquid-vapour separation
• Vertical coil condenser in AISI 316L stainless steel with borosilicate body
• Solvent and concentrate heat exchangers in AISI 316L stainless steel
• Solvent and concentrate receivers in borosilicate glass, each with an AISI 316L stainless steel drain ball valve and lid
• Borosilicate glass vacuum trap with AISI 316L stainless steel drain ball valve
• Steam circuit with filter, relief valve, adjustable flow valve, safety valve, condensate bleeder and operator protection panel
• AISI 316L stainless steel process pipework and reinforced PVC cooling fluid tube
• Support framework in AISI 304L stainless steel tube with aluminium connecting nuts and adjustable feet
• Heating pipe insulation and protecting panels, and a flow switch on the condenser cooling water

Instrumentation

• Condenser cooling water feed with variable area flowmeter, adjusting valve and flow switch that cuts the heating if cooling water is lost
• Bourdon type gauges for heating steam pressure and for vacuum
• Electric cabinet with emergency stop, mains switch with indicator, ON/OFF switches and two digital temperature displays reading nine Pt100 Ohm probes

Dimensions and weight

1600 mm x 600 mm x 3200 mm, approximately 150 kg

Services required

• 230 V / 50 Hz / single phase: 1 kW
• Cold water at 10 °C / 3 bar: 600 l/h
• Steam at 6 bar: 5 kg/h
• Vacuum at 10 mbar: 20 Nm3/h
• Drain for heating condensates