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Falling film evaporator
The tubular falling film evaporator (FFE) is the ideal solution to concentrate streams containing temperature sensitive products with low-medium viscosities and containing minimal suspended solids.
The falling film evaporator is a vertical evaporator consisting of a liquid distribution section at the top, a shell & tube calandria in the middle and a vapour-liquid separation zone at the bottom.
The process fluid flows downwards through the tubes of the calandria by gravity in a co-current flow with the vapour phase and creates a film along the tube walls, where it is partially evaporated.
The generated liquid or vapour mixture is separated into a dedicated separator (either integral or standalone type) to disengage the vapour phase from the liquid concentrated phase.
It is particularly suited to energy savings due to the multiple effect (ME) evaporation arrangement or through thermal vapour recompression (TVR) or mechanical vapour recompression (MVR).
Features and options
Show more Show lessRangeability
- Feed flow from 5 t/h to 250 t/h
- Operating pressure from 100 mbarg to 2 barg
- Wide temperature range depending on product limitations and operating pressure
- Compatible with various types of heating media (steam, hot oil and hot water)
- Recirculation by pump
- Thermal configuration: ME-TVR-MVR
- Heat recovery configuration
Material
The most suitable material is selected depending on the nature of the process stream, wastewater and the operating conditions.
The main materials usually selected are the following:
- Glass lined carbon steel
- 316L stainless steel
- Super duplex stainless steels
- Nickel alloys (e.g., Hastelloy® HC22)
- Titanium
Configurations to optimise energy consumption are as follows:
- Using hot water from cogeneration
- Using waste energy (e.g., exhaust gas, steam condensate, process condensate)
- Combining the above-mentioned technologies
To learn more about our design, production and service capabilities check the DBO section.
Applications
Show more Show lessThanks to our design and manufacturing capabilities and our many years of process expertise in thermal separation, our falling film evaporators are used across multiple industries in a wide range of applications, from concentration in industrial processing to wastewater treatment.
They are typically used to treat mixtures with the following properties:
- Viscosity: low to medium
- Temperature sensitivity: low to high
- Boiling point: low to medium
- Fouling: low
- Dissolved & suspended solids: low to medium
- Foaming: low
Falling film evaporators can be provided as a standalone operation unit or, as most applications require, as a part of a plant consisting of several units, including other evaporator types.
They are often used as a preconcentration stage before using forced circulation evaporators or thin film evaporators.
For new or innovative applications or to assess the correct sizing even for consolidated processes, we provide support to customers with software simulations and testing operations, to determine which type of evaporator (or which plant concept) is the most suitable for the performances sought.