Multiple Effect Evaporation

Introduction
Evaporation: - is the process used to concentrate a solution by removing the solvent
(mainly water) in a purified form by the application of heat.
The aim of evaporation is to concentrate clarified juice to a Brix, which will allow crystallization

 Composition of clarified juice

Clear juice consists of
 Water (85%) source from cane and imbibition water
 Solid (15%)
Sugar
Non-sugar

Arrangement of Evaporators
Based on the concept of steam economy three evaporator arrangements are realized
I. Single effect evaporators
II. Single effect evaporators with vapor recompression
III. Multiple effect evaporators

Single effect evaporator

 The required capacity is so small.
 Steam is cheap.
 The vapor is so contaminated that it cannot be reused.

Single effect evaporator with vapor recompression

They are the simplest means of reducing the energy requirements of evaporators in
compressing the vapor from the single evaporator so that the vapor can be used as heating
medium in the same evaporator.
The pressure and consequently the temperature of vapor from the evaporator is increased to a
certain extent (i.e., to the pressure and temperature that prevail in the heating calandria of the
evaporator) by the aid of a compressor.

Evaporators with vapor recompression are of two types based on the vapor compressing element:
a) The Turbo-Compressor / Motor-Compressor
b) The Thermo-Compressor
Multiple effect evaporators
The greatest and most striking advance in the history of sugar manufacture was no doubt
the development of multiple effect evaporation. The principle of the multiple effect evaporators
were conceived by Norbert RILLIEUX (USA 1830) and put into particle in Louisiana in 1844.
Arrangement of a Multiple Effect Evaporator
An evaporator consists of several vessels in series as shown in Fig.1.3 and 1.4. These
vessels are connected so that the vapour from one goes to the calandria of the following vessels
and ultimately to the last vessel which is connected to a condenser. Steam is admitted to the first
vessel. Juice enters below the calandria of the first vessel where it boils and goes out by means of
a down take to the next vessels an ultimately out of the last vessels as syrup. Multiple-effect
evaporators are the principal means (arrangement) in use for economizing on energy
consumption. They can be double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple, etc. As the number
of effects increases, energy (steam) saving increases, but the rate of evaporation (which is
minimum when the number of effects is greater than five and maximum when the number of
effects is three) decreases. The rate of evaporation falls with the number of effects because the
driving force, log-mean temperature difference, for heat transfer decreases. An arrangement of
four vessels in series is known as a Quadruple Effect Evaporator, whereas a Quintuple Effect
Evaporator consists of five vessels in series. An effect means a step or a stage of evaporation.
There are four stages of evaporation in a quadruple effect evaporator. The effects are known as
1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in a quad, with a 5th stage in a quint.

There may be more than single vessels in an effect, depending on certain factory set ups.
Methods of feeding
1. Forward feeding
2. Backward feeding
3. Mixed feeding
4. Parallel feeding

Forward feeding
Advantages
1. Feed moves from high pressure (in effect-2) to low pressure (in effect – 4) chambers, so
pumping of sugar juice is not required.
2. Product is obtained at lowest temperature.
3. This method is suitable for scale-forming sugar juice because concentrated product is
subjected to lowest temperature.
Disadvantage
It is not suitable for cold feed because, the steam input in effect-1 raises the temperature of the
feed, and a small amount of heat is supplied s latent heat of vaporization. Therefore, amount of
vapor produced will be less than the amount of steam supplied. Lower amount of vapor in effect-
1 produces lower amount of vapor in subsequent effects. Therefore, the overall economy is
lower.

Operating principle of multiple effect evaporator

In single effect evaporator steam is supplied for heating the sugar juice. The total heat is
not transferred from the steam. So the rest of the heat is wasted. To use that heat efficiently,
connections are made so that the vapor from one effect serves as the heating medium for the next
effect.
First look this triple effect evaporator diagram

We have steam coming in and entering the first effect, and the condensate leaves at the bottom
of heating section. The row juice is entering from bottom, and it rise in those tubes
Some of the liquid turned into vapors and the others partially concentrated liquid then moves
down to the second effect. The vapors leave the first effect rather than discharging to the
atmosphere, those vapors then enter the second effect as the heating medium.
Note that the heating medium in the first effect was steam and now for the second effect the
heating medium is the vapor that is coming from the first effect.
Those vapors will then condense in the heating section and they will leave as condensate. Now
the concentrated stream from the first effect is then feed into the second effect at the bottom of
the heating section and it rises through the heating section to the top again more vapors will
come of liquid stream and those vapors are then passed into third effect as the heating medium.
Where they will discharge their heat and the condensate will leave at the bottom of heating
section.
The concentrated liquid from the second effect is feed into the third effect at the bottom of
heating section and again more vapors will come out at the top which are then discharge into the
atmosphere and the concentrated product stream leaves the third effect.
So, in triple effect evaporator steam coming in and enters only the first effect and then for second
and third effect heating is done by the vapors that are being discharged from the previous effect.
 In the first effect raw steam is fed in which the vapor pressure in the evaporator is the
highest, p1. The second effect has the intermediate vapor pressure, i.e. p1>p2>p3. This
pressure gradient is maintained by drawing the vapor through a vacuum pump and
condensing after the final effect.
 Depending on the lowering of vapor pressure boiling point of the sugar juice of 2nd and 3rd
effect will also be lowered; i.e. T1>T2>T3.
 In the 2nd effect vapor from the 1st effect (T1) is heating the sugar juice (having temp. T2).
So there is a temperature gradient (T1 – T2); consequently, the sugar juice will be heated.
 Similar heating will be there in the 3rd effect also.
Mass and energy balance in multi effect evaporator

Mass balance
ṁf = ṁv1 + ṁv2 + ṁv3 + ṁp
enthalpy balance
First effect evaporator
ṁfhf + ṁshvs = ṁv1hv1 + ṁf1hf1 +ṁshcs
Where;
ṁf – amount of sugar juice entering in effect one
hf – enthalpy of entering concentrated juice
ṁf1 – amount of partially concentrated feed coming out of effect one
ṁs – the mass flow rate of condensate steam leaving the first effect
hvs – enthalpy of the saturated steam that we obtained from steam table
ṁv1 – mass flow rate of the vapor coming out from the first effect
hv1 – enthalpy of the vapor from the first effect
ṁf1 – amount of partially concentrated feed coming out effect one.
hf1 – enthalpy of pre concentrated juice
hcs – enthalpy of the condensate steam
Second effect evaporator
 ṁf1hf1 + ṁv1hv1 = ṁv2hv2 + ṁf1hf2 +ṁv1hc1
Third effect evaporator
ṁf2hf2 + ṁv2hv2 = ṁv3hv2 + ṁf3hf3 +ṁv2hc2
The rate of heat transfers in the evaporator
First effect
Q1=U1A1(Ts-T1) = ṁshvs -ṁshcs
Second effect
Q2=U2A2(T1-T2) = ṁ1h1-ṁ1h1
Third effect
Q3=U3A3(T2-T3) = ṁ2h2-ṁ2h2
Where;
Q-rate of heat transfer
U-coefficient of heat transfer
A-area of evaporator
T-temperature of evaporator