LABORATORY REPORT

On
CLIMBING- FILM EVAPORATOR EXPERIMENT
By
OGUNGBENRO, ADETOLA ELIJAH
(CHE/2007/083)
Submitted to
DR J.A. SONIBARE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY II (CHE 503)
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING,
OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE.

JULY 2012.
OGUNGBENRO Adetola Elijah
Department of Chemical Engineering,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife.
July 17, 2012.
Dr J.A. Sonibare,
Instructor, Climbing- Film Evaporator Experiment,
Chemical Engineering Laboratory II (CHE 503),
Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- ife.
Dear Sir,
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
I hereby write to present to you a Laboratory Report on Climbing- Film Evaporator
Experiment, a practical work of Chemical Engineering Laboratory II (CHE 503).
This report contains detailed procedures of the experimental work, results obtained and
analysis, and limitations encountered in carryout in the experiment.
` I appreciate your anticipated benevolent appraisal of the report.
Thanks and God bless.



Yours faithfully,
.
OGUNGBENRO Adetola Elijah
CHE/2007/083



TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Letter of Transmittal ii
Abstract iii
Table of Contents iv
List of Tables vi
List of Figures
List of Symbols viii

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
1.2 Liquid Characteristics
1.3 Single and Multiple Effect Operation
1.4 Classifications of Evaporators
1.5 The Climbing Film Evaporator
1.6 Objectives of the Experiment

2. THEORECTICAL REVIEW
2.1 Material and Energy Balances
2.2 Film Transfer Coefficient
2.3 Boiling of a Submerged Surface
2.4 Maximum Head Flux
2.5 Forced Convection
2.6 Evaporator Economy

3. EXPERIMENTAL WORK
3.1 Services and Materials
3.1.1 Sensing equipment
3.1.2 The vacuum

3.2 Description of the Equipment: The Climbing Film Evaporator

3.3 Experimental Procedure
3.3.1 Operations at atmospheric pressure
3.3.1.1 Start up procedure
3.3.1.2 Removal of products
3.3.1.3 Shut down procedure
3.3.2 Operations under reduced pressure
3.3.2.1 Start up procedure
3.3.2.2 Removal of products
3.3.3 Experimental studies
3.3.3.1 Study at 5 psig pressure
3.3.3.2 Study at 10 psig pressure

3.3.4 Shut- Down procedure

3.4 Experimental Precautions

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results
4.2 Discussion of Results

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusions
5.2 Recommendations

REFERENCES
APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF SYMBOLS
Symbol Definition SI Units
A Heat transfer surface area m
2

C
p
Specific heat capacity of liquid at constant pressure J/kg K
D Liquid evaporated or steam condensed per unit time kg/s
Dc Tube Diameter m
AT Temperature difference
o
K
U Overall heat transfer coefficient W/m
2
K
H Enthalpy per unit mass of vapor J/kg
G Acceleration due to gravity m/s
2



ADD
MORE




CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Evaporation represents a gradual change of state from liquid to gas that occurs at
a liquids surface or below the liquids boiling point. A liquids surface area and temperature
affect its rate of evaporation. Evaporation rates also depend on the type of liquid, since liquids
made up of different molecules differ in the amount of attraction that exists between the
molecules.
Evaporation is used to separate and purify substances in many chemical and industrial
processes. One of the most important industrial applications is separation of crude petroleum into
gasoline, kerosene, and gas oil. In this process, called fractional distillation, crude petroleum is
boiled, and the evaporated materials are cooled until they condense. These condensed vapors
contain higher percentages of the more volatile (most easily vaporized) compounds necessary for
producing gasoline, kerosene, and gas oil. As a result, repeating the cycle of evaporation and
condensation can isolate these compounds (Williams, 2004).
The vaporization of a liquid for the purpose of concentrating a solution consisting of a
non-volatile solute and volatile solvent is a common unit operation in chemical processing and is
performed in many ways. Evaporation is a widely used method for concentration of aqueous
solutions. It is conducted by vaporizing a portion of the solvent to produce a concentrated
solution or thick liquor. If the solution contains dissolved solids, the resulting strong liquor may
become saturated so that the crystals are dissolved. Liquors which are to be evaporated may be
classified as follows;
Those which can be heated to high temperatures without decomposition, and
those that can be heated only to a temperature of about 330 K.
Those which yield solids on concentration, in which case capital size and shapes
may be important, and those which don not.
Those which at a given pressure, boils at about the same temperature as water,
and those which have a much a higher boiling point.

Evaporation is achieved by adding heat to the solution to vaporize the solvent. The heat is
supplied principally to provide the latent heat of vaporization and by adopting methods for
recovery of heat from the vapor; it has been possible to achieve great economy in heat
utilization. Whilst the normal heating medium is generally low pressure exhaust steam from
turbines, special heat transfer fluids or flue gas are also used (Perry, 1973).

Evaporation differs from drying in that the residue is a liquid - sometimes a highly
viscous one - rather than a solid; it differs from distillation in that the vapor is usually a single
component, and even when the vapor is a mixture, no attempt is made in the evaporation step to
separate the vapor into fractions; it differs from crystallization in that emphasis is placed on
concentrating a solution rather than forming and building crystals.

The conditions under which evaporation is carried out in practice vary widely. The liquid
to be evaporated may be less viscous than water, or it may be so viscous that it will hardly flow.
It may deposit scale on the heating surface; it may precipitate in crystals; it may tend to foam; it
may have a very high boiling point elevation; or it may be damaged by the application of too
high temperatures. The design of an evaporation unit requires the practical application of data on
heat transfer to boiling liquids, together with an understanding of what happens to the liquid
during concentration.
This wide variety of problems has led to considerable variation in the types of mechanical
construction used.

1.2 Liquid Characteristics
****write from HISEXCELLENCY***
1.3 Single and Multiple Effect Operationsame as 1.2
1.4 Classifications of Evaporators
****Figure of types of evaporators***

1.5 The Climbing Film Evaporator
Climbing film evaporators are primarily used in industry to concentrate a solution by
removing a part of the solvent in form of vapour. These evaporators are normally operated under
a vacuum, so as to lower the boiling point of the solution and aid its passage through the
evaporation column. This characteristic, combined with the high heat transfer rate at low
temperature and low contact time makes the climbing film evaporator ideal for concentrating
heat sensitive materials (Badger and Banchero, 1955).
There are two prime advantages of this apparatus. One advantage is that there is
minimum contact between the fluid and the heating surface. The second advantage is that there is
rapid evaporation provided by the high rate of heat transfer. Another important feature of this
type of evaporator is its low cost. The climbing film evaporator is the cheapest evaporator per
unit capacity available.
The climbing film evaporator can be used in production processes, pilot plant work, or as
an instructional unit. Climbing film evaporators have been successfully used in processes
involving antibiotics, fruit juices, milk, and many organic chemicals.

1.6 Objectives of the Experiment
This experiment primarily aims to determine the effect of varying the feed flow rate and
steam pressure on the performance of the climbing film evaporator which is evaluated by heat
transfer coefficient and the concentration of glycerol in the production solution.
The specific objectives of this experiment are:
4 To compare the operations of the climbing film evaporator at atmospheric pressure and under
reduced pressure.
5 To investigate the effect of the operating steam temperature on the rate of evaporation.
6 To determine the economics of evaporation using the climbing film evaporator approach.








CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL REVIEW
2.1 Material and Energy Balances
Consider a highly simplified diagram of an evaporator, as given in Fig 2.1, in which the
heating surface is represented by a simple coil.
Let F be the kilogram of the feed to the evaporator per hour, whose solute content is x
f
(x
is the weight fraction). Let the enthalpy of the feed per kilogram be h
f
. There is taken out of the
evaporator L kg of thick liquor, whose composition in weight fraction of solute is x
L
and whose
enthalpy is h
L
in joule per kilogram. There is also V kg of vapor having a solute concentration of
y and an enthalpy of H, J/kg. In most evaporators, the vapor is pure water, and therefore y is
zero. The material balance equations for this case become:
Total Material Balance: F= L + V= (1)
Solute Balance: F x
f
= L x
L
+ Vy (2)
In order to furnish the heat necessary for evaporation, S kg of steam is supplied to the heating
surface with an enthalpy of H
s
(J/kg) and there is taken out S kg of condensate with an enthalpy
of h
c
(J/kg). One simplifying assumption usually made is that in an evaporator there is very little
cooling of the condensate. This leads the assumption that the condensate will leave at the
condensing temperature of the steam.
The heat balance equation is:
Heat in feed + Heat in steam =
Heat in thick liquor + Heat in vapor + Heat in condensate + Heat lost by radiation (5.1.3)

Neglecting losses by radiation and using the relevant symbols we get the following equation:
**********CONTINUE FROM MATERIAL******
.before equatn 5.1.9
However, depending on the thickness of the surface area used for the transfer of heat, the product
of U & A can be thus defined as
Rs
A h kA
x
A h
UA
+ +
A
+
=
01 0 1 1
1 1
1

Where
Q - the rate of heat transfer per unit time (KW)
U - the overall heat transfer coefficient (KW/m
2
K)
A - the heat transfer area (m
2
)

T A
- the temperature difference between the steam stream and
the bulk of material (K).
h
i
- the inside heat transfer coefficient (W/m
2
K)
h
o
- the outside heat transfer coefficient (W/m
2
K)
A
i
- the inside transfer area (m
2
)
A
o
- the outside transfer area (m
2
)

x A
- thickness of the tube (m)
Rs - the overall resistance to heat transfer offered by scale
deposits on the inside and outside surface (K/W)
The determination of
T A
is very important. Difficulties usually arise I determining the
correct value of
T A
. These difficulties arise due to boiling point rise and hydrostatic head. If
water is boiled in an evaporator under a given pressure, then the temperature of the liquid can be
2
determined from steam tables and
T A
is readily calculated. At the same pressure, a solution has
a boiling point greater than water and the difference between its boiling point and that of water.

The effect of hydrostatic head may be considered by supposing the liquor to be at the top of the
tube. Then the pressure of the liquid, which is just at the top of the tube, is that in the vapor space
and the boiling point can therefore be calculated. The liquor at the bottom of the tube is at higher
temperature corresponding to the increased pressure. Thus, the temperature difference between
the steam outside the tubes and the liquor will depend on where boiling starts and there is no
satisfactory way to determine this.

The variation of heat transfer coefficient U with liquor level is seen that after an initial sharp rise,
U falls as level of vapor is increased. The maximum point of the graph sets a limit for maximum
heat transfer per unit time and hence maximum rate of evaporation. This relationship is shown in
Fig 2.2 below.
















2.2 Film Transfer Coefficient
Performance of any form of evaporator depends on the value of the film coefficients on
the heating side and for the liquor, together with allowance for scale deposits and the tube wall.
The rate of heat transfer in a climbing film evaporator can be shown to be the form of equation
(above);
Rs
A h kA
x
A h
T T
q
B S
+ +
A
+

=
01 0 1 1
1 1


(parameters as defined)
Falling film
Climbing film
evaporator
H
e
a
t

t
r
a
n
s
f
e
r

C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

(
k
W
/
m
2
K
)

Height of Liquor (m)
Fig. 2.2: Variation of Heat transfer coefficient with Liquid Height
2.3 Boiling of a Submerged Surface
When heat is transferred from a heating surface to a liquid at its boiling, four
distinct regions are observed. From Fig 2.3, it can be seen that the heat flux increases (slowly) to
increase in temperature differences ( T A ) in range AB. In this range although the liquid vicinity
of the surface will be slightly superheated, there is no water vapor formed and heat transfer is by
natural convection with evaporation from the free surfaces. At point B, boiling begins, over the
region BC (nucleate boiling region) increases in T A increases the heat flux up to point C where
the surface is completely covered. Increase in T A beyond C will lead to partial collapse of the
nucleate boiling mechanism due to exposure of the surface to vapor blanketing in the region CD,
the average heat flux decreases with increase in T A . To dissipate heat, the surface temperature
must rise to a point E, which will bring about increase in heat transfer characteristics.

The heat transfer coefficient in nucleate boiling region, hD can be calculated using the equation
below:
31 . 0
33 . 0
67 . 0 69 . 0
1
6
225 . 0
(

=
(

r
L
l
l p
b
P
P pd qd
k
C
k
d h

a b c d E C
H
e
a
t

F
l
u
x

AT = Temperature Difference (T
surface
T
bulk
)
Fig. 2.3:
Boiling Xter at a Submerged Surface Variations of Head Flux with Temperature Difference
a = Natural Convection
b = Nucleate Boiling
c = Transition Boiling d-film
boiling = Film Boiling
2.4 Maximum Head Flux
The maximum heat flux in an evaporator as defined by Zubers equation can be
expressed as
( )
2
1
4
1
2
max
24
(

=
v
v L
v
v L v
P
q

o t

Where
- the latent heat of vaporization (KJ/kg)

v
- density of the vapor (kg/m
3
)

l
- density of the liquid (kg/m
3
)
o - interfacial tension (kg/m.s
2
)
g - acceleration due to gravity (m/s
2
)

2.5 Forced Convection
Various flow patterns are associated with forced convection depending on the
vapor rates, hydrostatic head and stage. These flow patterns are shown in Fig 2.4.
























2.6 Evaporator Economy.
Natural convection heating
circulation line indicated
Bubble formation due to reduction
in hydrostatic head
Slug formation due to bubble
Fully developed slug flow showing
liquid slippage around vapor slug
Breakdown of slugs at high
vapor rates
Annular flow climbing film
Fig 2.4: The nature of two phase flow in an Evaporator
CHAPTER THREE

EXPERIMENTAL WORK

3.1 SERVICES AND MATERIALS

3.1.1 SENSING EQUIPMENT.DESCRIBE IDEAL CASE
3.1.2 THE VACUUM

3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE EQUIPMENT: THE CLIMBING FILM EVAPORATOR

3.3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

3.3.1 OPERATIONS AT ATM PRESSURE
3.3.1.1 Start up procedure
3.3.1.2 Removal of Products
3.3.1.3 Shut down Procedure
3.3.2 OPERATIONS under reduced PRESSURE
3.3.2.1 Start up procedure
3.3.2.2 Removal of Products
3.3.3 Experimental Studies
3.3.3.1 Study at 5 psig pressure
3.3.3.2 Study at 10 psig pressure
3.3.4 Shut- Down Procedure

3.4 Experimental Precautions

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results
4.2 Discussion of Results

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusions
5.2 Recommendations

REFERENCES
APPENDIX