Evaporation Technology

Forced Circulation Evaporator

Often used in combination with the Falling Film Evaporator. Shell-and-tube heat exchanger or plate heat exchanger as calandria. With flash/vessel separator arranged above the calandria and circulation pump.

The Forced Circulation Evaporator is often used in combination with the Falling Film Evaporator as high concentrator or as crystallization evaporator for saline solutions.

Especially adequate for highly viscous liquids or with a high tendency to fouling as well as a high concentration step in multiple-effect evaporation plants. GEA offers different design options depending on product specifications and customer requirements.

Particular features

  • Long operating periods.
    Boiling/evaporation does not take place on the heating surfaces but in the separator. Fouling due to incrustation and precipitation in the calandria is therefore minimized. 
  • Optimized heat exchange surface.
    Flow speed in the tubes is determined by the circulation pump.

Working Principle

Working Principle of Forced Circulation Evaporators

The liquid is circulated through the calandria by means of a circulation pump, where it is superheated at an elevated pressure, higher than its normal boiling pressure. By entering the separator, the pressure in the liquid is rapidly reduced, resulting in some of the liquid being flashed or rapidly boiled off.

Since liquid circulation is maintained, the flow velocity in the tubes and the liquid temperature can be controlled to suit the product requirements independently of the pre-selected temperature difference.

forced-circulation-evaporator-workflow
evaporation-type-01

Heating options for thermal separation plants

Traditionally, an evaporator or crystallizer is heated by live steam, but waste heat can be used as energy source as well, as long as the amount of energy required for the thermal separation process is given.

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