VACUUM EVAPORATORS

UNIVERSIDAD SANTO TOMÁS

M. Torres, A. Correa, N. Morad, A. Díaz
andresdiazh@usantotomas.edu.co, nessinmorat@usantotomas.edu.co, adrianacorrea@usantotomas.edu.co, jaksontorres@usantotomas.edu.co

Abstract— Vacuum evaporators are equipment used in the

industry currently for the minimization and treatment of
wastewater, which depending on certain characteristics allows
a zero-discharge system. There are different types, such as
multiple effects, by heat pump and mechanical compression
by steam. The principle of operation of this equipment
consists in the transformation of a tributary into two streams,
one of concentrated waste and the other of distilled water.
Depending on the type of evaporator, the way in which fluid
streams are transported in the system will depend.

Index Terms— Vacuum, evaporators, operation, system.

Image 1. Vacuum Evaporator
Taken from: http://evaporadoresindustriales.grupovento.com/wp-
I. INTRODUCTION content/uploads/2017/10/Evaporadores-al-vac%C3%ADo.jpg

T hey are equipment currently used for the minimization

and treatment of wastewater from different industrial II. EVAPORATION RATE
processes that, depending on certain characteristics, allows In the tank the pressure inside it is lower than atmospheric
a zero discharge system. These equipment’s have been and this makes the boiling temperature lower and saves
characterized by generating a drastic reduction in the energy; In addition, evaporation is a phenomenon that
volume of liquid waste, in addition to the concentration of depends directly on the heat transfer that occurs inside the
corrosive or incrustation waste and the reuse of recovered tank; therefore, the evaporation rate depends on factors
water. such as:
1. The area of the tank, which means that the greater
Vacuum evaporators have the purpose of transforming a the area the greater the heat exchange capacity.
tributary into two streams, one of concentrated waste and
the other of distilled water. Depending on the type of 2. Heat transfer coefficient.
evaporator, the way in which the fluid streams are
3. Properties of the fluid.
transported in the system will depend, however, they share
characteristics in their operation which will be explained
below. The evaporators receive the fluid (the fluid is
assumed at room temperature for this case) to be treated by
means of a feed line, which is connected to a tank where
the fluid will be brought to the boiling point by conduction
with the In order to generate the aforementioned streams,
after the fluid reaches the boiling point a part of it flows
into a gaseous state and passes to the upper part of the tank
and through a condensation process transported as distilled
water, while another part of the fluid with a higher density
is located in the lower part and subsequently taken to the
concentrated waste line.

Image 2. Vacuum Evaporator Process Diagram

Taken from: https://www.controlgraf.com/images/tratamientoresiduos/esquema-
interior-evaporador-al-vacio.jpg
 III. TYPES OF VACUUM EVAPORATORS
Vacuum evaporators are equipment that are positioned in
the industry mainly because of their cost-efficiency ratio,
taking into account that they are equipment that does not
need constant maintenance, in addition to operating
automatically. The above are factors that are decisive for
the creation of different models of vacuum evaporators,
such as:
A. Multi-effect vacuum evaporators:
These equipment’s are the union of two or more
evaporators that are connected in series so that the vacuum
is increasing from the first evaporator to the last one, the
above allows the steam generated in the first tank to be used
as a heating liquid of the next tank, allowing a higher
evaporation rate. These equipment’s are mainly used for
high flow rates, in addition to having an energy advantage
such as saving the heating liquid when used as a
refrigerant.
Image 3. Vacuum Evaporator With Multiple Effects.
Taken from: https://condorchem.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Diagrama-ENVIDEST-MFE.jpg
B. Vacuum evaporators by heat pump
Image 4. Vacuum Evaporator by Heat Pump.
Taken from: https://condorchem.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Diagrama-ENVIDEST-LT-DPE.jpg
The principle of operation of this equipment is based on
the gas cycle of a refrigerator in a closed system, where the
gas moves through a compressor which decreases or
increases its temperature and pressure. The liquid that is in
the heat exchanger is decompressed and cooled by the effect
of a pressure valve, then it is directed towards a second heat
exchanger and it is where the condenser causes the steam
that forms in the evaporator to condense and At the same
time, the liquid increases its temperature before going back
through the compressor and repeating the cycle. This
equipment is characterized by being used for low-value
flows of viscous, encrusting or corrosive liquids.
C. Vacuum evaporators by mechanical steam
compression.
The purpose of this equipment is to recover the heat that
is generated in the condensation of the distillate in order to
reuse it in the evaporation process, this process is carried
out when the temperature of the steam generated in the
evaporation is increased by compressing it mechanically, so
Therefore, when said steam travels through the evaporator,
it manages to heat the liquid to be evaporated and also
helps to condense. This equipment is characterized by the
economy it offers by optimizing the use of the coolant.
Image 5. Vacuum Evaporator by Mechanical Steam Compression
Taken from: https://condorchem.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/Diagrama-ENVIDEST-MVR-FC.jpg
.
There are three main categories of vacuum evaporators by
mechanical steam compression:
 Natural circulation evaporators. These are very
competitive equipment suitable for those cases
where low steam production is required. These
systems work with electric power and are easy to
use and maintain. In addition, they represent an
excellent investment due to their combination of
distillate quality, high technology and robustness.
 Evaporators of falling film or falling film. It is a
very efficient technology for obtaining high quality
water from an effluent with a high concentration
of pollutants. Falling film evaporators use thermal
energy, but when operating under vacuum
conditions the boiling temperature is reduced, so
energy consumption is also reduced
 Forced circulation evaporators. They are the
equipment for mechanical compression of the
steam with lower energy consumption and those
that allow to treat the higher flows. (Tuset, 2015)
 3

IV. PARAMETERS irrigation, soil washing, replacing demineralized, thanks to

The exchange area required for evaporation is key to the the high quality of water that we will obtain from
evaporator design. evaporation, which is usually around a conductivity of less
than 200 S / cm, a COD of less than 1000 ppm (in the
absence of volatiles), a pH between 6-9, and total absence of
solids in suspension, heavy metals, hardness and turbidity.
Other advantages offered by this technology are:

 Automatic total and minimum maintenance.

 Absence of reagents (with the exception of
antifoam in some cases).
 Compactness, robustness and small size.
 Very practical to treat low amounts of wastewater
(up to 100 l / day).
 It represents a very important energy saving with
respect to atmospheric evaporation.
Image 6. Parameters in vacuum evaporation: Evaporator
that feeds on a current F and in turn, current is extracted
from concentrate S and distillate E. VI. MATERIAL EFFICIENCY
Taken from: https://blog-en.condorchem.com/img/vacuum-evaporator-diagram.jpg

Vacuum evaporators throughout history have been

 Global Matter Balance manufactured from different materials, which consequently
brings different characteristics in their operation, such as
(1) the voltage that the equipment supports during its
operation, the cost of them, between others. Next, vacuum
evaporators made of PRFV, S275JR, Stainless Steel and
(2) Titanium are taken as a reference to make a comparison of
the characteristics presented previously.
 For the Solute
Cost €
Evaporators PRFV 23.890,00 €
(3)
Evaporators Stainless Steel 38.780,00 €
Evaporators Titanium 66.700,00 €
 Energy Balances
Table 1. Vacuum Evaporators Cost

(4)
Stress (σCalc/σAdm)
Evaporators PRFV 0,017
(5) Evaporators Stainless Steel 0,99
Evaporators Titanium 0,27
Evaporators S275JR 0,83
o Q: heat flow transmitted through the evaporator Table 2. Vacuum Evaporators Stress
heating surface.
A factor that can describe the values in terms of the stress
o U: the global heat transfer coefficient. suffered by materials is due to the fact that the union of
materials such as steel or titanium is given by means of the
o A: the area necessary for evaporation. fusion of materials while the PRFV is joined using extra
material in the place of the unions.
o ΔT: the temperature difference between the heating
agent and the liquid to evaporate. Although the evaporated manufactured from GRP,
according to the comparison tables show it as a better
V. ADVANTAGE OF VACUUM EVAPORATION option, it has a deficiency of not being able to work at a
The most notable is, without a doubt, the evaporated temperature greater than 100 degrees Celsius.
water in a very high percentage of cases can be reused in
different uses such as: industrial (start of process), sanitary,
 VII. SALT PROCESSING WITH VACUUM EVAPORATORS
Vacuum evaporators are not used exclusively for
wastewater management but also in the industrial use of
salt processing. Salt can be obtained by evaporating
seawater, salt rocks or brines, which in the case of seawater
and brine is done through the evaporation process, which is
achieved by heating artificial or solar. Said artificial
heating is achieved by means of vacuum evaporators which
generates salt crystals. This process occurs when seawater
or brine is pumped to tanks in which these materials are
sought to settle and thus remove calcium and magnesium
through chemical processes and then pass to the vacuum
evaporator and generate salt crystals.

Image 7. Salt process with vacuum evaporators

http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/sites/ciencia/volumen3/ciencia3/131/img/131_63b.gif

VIII. ENERGY AND CONCENTRATION

The energy consumed per liter evaporated is always
directly proportional to the concentration of the
concentrate. The explanation is simple, the boiling point of
the sample is increasing and the precise yield. In this we
can see how the performance of the machine, on the
contrary is inversely proportional to the concentration of
the concentrate.

REFERENCES
[1] Tuset, S. (10 de 02 de 2015). Condorchem Envitech ( Smart ideas for
wastewater & air treatment ). Recuperado el 26 de 08 de 2019, de The
basic of vacuum evaporation: https://blog-en.condorchem.com/basis-
vacuum-evaporation/#.XWbCcaNDmYU
[2] Iberica, C. (17 de 01 de 2018). C&G Iberica. (C. Iberica, Ed.) Obtenido
de C&G Iberica: http://www.cgiberica.com/index.html
[3] Tuset, S. (s.f.). CONDORCHEM ENVITECH. Obtenido de
https://blog.condorchem.com/fundamentos-evaporacion-al-vacio/