Effect of Co-flowing Vapor during Vertical Falling-film Evaporation
Journal article, 2016

A large number of industrial processes use falling-film evaporation to concentrate liquid products. This technology allows for small temperature differences during operation and is often significantly more energy efficient than other techniques. When processing dairy products, a reduction in the solvent fraction results in an increased product viscosity and may thus result in non-Newtonian features. The interaction between a co-flowing vapor that is produced during the evaporation process and the falling film is an important feature of the process. Few studies have accurately studied the effect of co-flow on evaporative falling films at high solid contents. In this work, an experimental study of the influence of co-flowing vapor on the heat transfer coefficient for a dairy product is presented as a function of both the solid content (from 10 to 50%) and the mass flow rate of the feed. The experimental set-up, consisting of a unique industrial pilot-scale evaporator, provides the possibility of obtaining results useful for realistic industrial conditions. An analytical approach that enables the simultaneous evaluation of heat transfer in every experimental condition, e.g., for Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluids and with or without co-flowing vapors, is presented.

heat transfer

instability

dairy product

industry

nonlinear stability

heat-transfer

black liquor

non-Newtonian fluid

milk

Thermodynamics

condensation

performances

water

Engineering

falling film evaporation

Author

Ernesto Mura

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Industrial Energy Systems and Technologies

Anders Åkesjö

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Industrial Energy Systems and Technologies

Lennart Vamling

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Industrial Energy Systems and Technologies

A. Jongsma

F. Innings

Mathias Gourdon

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Industrial Energy Systems and Technologies

Experimental Heat Transfer

0891-6152 (ISSN) 1521-0480 (eISSN)

Vol. 29 4 561-575

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Energy

Subject Categories

Environmental Sciences

DOI

10.1080/08916152.2015.1046017

More information

Created

10/8/2017