14.7.6. Thin-layer or wiped-film evaporators
This type of unit, known also as a thin-film evaporator is shown in Figure 14.24. It consists
of a vertical tube, the lower portion of which is surrounded by a jacket which contains the
heating medium. The upper part of the tube is not jacketed and this acts as a separator. A
rotor, driven by an external motor, has blades which extend nearly to the bottom of the
tube, mounted so that there is a clearance of only about 1.3 mm between their tips and
the inner surface of the tube. The liquor to be concentrated is picked up as it enters by the
rotating blades and thrown against the tube wall. This action provides a thin film of liquid
and sufficient agitation to give good heat transfer, even with very viscous liquids. The
film flows down by gravity, becoming concentrated as it falls. The concentrated liquor is
taken off at the bottom by a pump, and the vapour leaves the top of the unit where it is
passed to a condenser. Development of this basic design has been devoted mainly to the
modification of the blade system. An early alternative was the use of a hinged blade. In
this type of unit the blade is forced on to the wall under centrifugal action, the thickness
of the film being governed by a balance between this force and the hydrodynamic forces
produced in the liquid film on which the blade rides. The first experimental comparison
of the fixed and hinged blade wiped-film evaporators was that of BRESSLER(32)
. For each
type of blade there appeared to be an optimum wiper speed beyond which an increase
had no further effect on heat transfer. This optimum was reached at a lower speed with
the hinged blade. Other agitator designs in which the blades, usually made from rubber,
graphite or synthetic materials, actually scrape the wall have been studied. The use of
nylon brushes as the active agitator elements has been investigated by MCMANUS(33) using
a small steam heated evaporator, 63 mm internal diameter and 762 mm long. Water and
various aqueous solutions of sucrose and glycerol were tested in the evaporator. A notable
feature of the unit was the high heat fluxes obtained with the viscous solutions. Values
as high as 70 kW/m2 were obtained when concentrating a 60 per cent sucrose feedstock
to 73 per cent, at a film temperature difference of 16.5 deg K with a wiper speed of
8.3 Hz. The fluxes obtained for the evaporation of water under similar conditions were
nearly 4.5 times higher. A detailed analysis of the heat transfer mechanism, based on
unsteady-state conduction to the rapidly renewed film, was presented. Similar analyses
are to be found in the work of HARRIOTT(34) and KOOL(35)
. Close agreement between
the theory and experimental data confirmed the appropriateness of the model chosen to
represent the heat transfer process. The theory has one main disadvantage, however, in
that a satisfactory method for the estimation of liquid film thickness is not available. The
most important factor influencing the evaporation coefficient is the thermal conductivity
of the film material, and that the effects of viscosity and wiper speed which is inversely
proportional to the heating time t, are of less significance.