J.J.

Bhagat

FALLING FILM EVAPORATION IN THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY-

AN INDIAN EXPERIENCE

' J.J.Bhagat
Sugar Technology Mission, D-5 Apt., Qutab Hotel,
New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110016

ABSTRACT
Among the various designs of evaporators operating in the cane sugar industry, the Falling Film Evaporator (FFE)
is a recent one. The FPE is claimed to have various advantages over the conventional Roberts design or the climbing
film evaporator. Juice distribution is an important design feature in an FFE and has to be arranged carefully. A thin
film of juice and absence of a hydrostatic head in the FFE tubes should lead to better heat transfer. Scale formation
in the FFE is minimal, and there is a very gradual loss in efficiency over time. Various problems including the tube
deformation, juice caramelization and entrainment in FFE have been overcome through suitable design modification.
Sugar inversion is low due to short juice residence time. The rate of evaporation, however, continues to remain low
and requires further design improvements to achieve cost economy,
Keywords: Sugarcane, falling film, inversion, climbing film, evaporators, India.
INTRODUCTION
The use of falling film evaporators (FFEs) in the sugar industry in India is recent, with a number of cane sugar
factories having introduced falling film vessels in conjunction with existing evaporator arrangements. A number of
equipment manufacturers have developed different designs-the main differences being in the arrangements for juice
distribution. Factories using FFEs have faced a number of problems including caramelization, tube deformation,
inadequate wetting and juice distribution; but a common advantage claimed by the users is the short juice-retention time
with minimal sugar losses due to inversion.
There are diietent options for the installation sequence of the FFEs. In a number of cases, they are installed as
the first or second vessels of an evaporator arrangement.
This paper deals with the operating aspects of the equipment; discussion of theorical aspects of falling film
evaporation has been deliberately avoided.
INSTALLATION STATUS
The first installation of FFEs was at Dhampur Sugars Limited, UP. The vessels, which were of indigenous design,
were operated as second and third effects in a sextuple system. Wiegand (Germany), through collaborators in India,
installed FFEs as first effects at Ponni Sugars Ltd. (1988) and at Erode and A r m Sugars Ltd., Pennadam (1990).
To date, numerous factories have installed FFEs in various configurations. All are manufactured locally and are
generally for frrst- or second-effect duties (Table 1).
DESIGNS
The different designs in the Indian sugar industry can be classified generally into the following categories:
Those that operate on a once-through system. No common juice recirculation is provided. The heating surface
is divided into two segments on the juice side. After being heated in a plate heat exchanger to 104OC, the juice
is pumped to the first juice compartment at the top of the juice distributor located above the top tube plate. The
juice is distributed through a five-tier distributor, common to both juice compartments but with partitions for
segregating the juice between the compartments (Fig. 1A & 1B). After falling through the first compartment, the
juice is collected in the concentric cylinder located below the tubes. This juice is pumped through a recirculation
pump back to the distributer. The juice collected from the second compartment is pumped to the next vessel. The
distributor has five stages, the first being the juice receiving and primary distributor to the subsequent section. The
second and third stage distribution trays have a hexagonal shape; whereas, the fourth and fifth stages are triangular.
In the final stage the distribution tray is zig-zag in shape, with finger-type guides to discharge the juice in the center
of a set of three tubes.
 Factory: Evaporation

Table 1. Details of installations.

No. of Tube
falling
" FFE HSA length
- OD Thickness
Factory effects eff. (m2) (m) (m) (SWG) Material
Dhampur 1 1 1607 8230 40 55304
2 2 1858 8534 40 SS304

Mansurpur 1 1
1 2
1 2
1 J

Rouzagaon 2 1 1150 8535 42 18 SS304

2 2 1050 8230 42 18 SS304
1 3 1100 8050 42 18 SS304
Asmoli 2 1 1150 8535 42 18 55304
2 2 1050 8230 42 18 SS304
1 3 1000 8050 42 18 55304
Bhogawati 1 1 1800 8000 45 18 55304
1 2 1000 8000 45 18 SS304
Dyaneshwar 1 1 2300 10000 45 18 55304
Manjara 1 1 1600 7995 42 18 55304
Mula 1 1 2000 7995 42 18 SS304
Malegaon 1 1 1664 7995 42 18 55304
1 2 1664 7995 42 18 SS304
Jawahar' 1 2 2000 7995 42 18. SS304
Shamli 1 1 2500 10000 42 18 SS304
Purna 1 1 900 6000 42 18 SS304
Vighnahar 1 1 1040 6000 40 18 55304
Aruna 1 1 2300 10000 38 18 SS304
Ponni 1 1 1400 7500 38 18 SS304
Shrigonda ' 1 1 2300 -
Jalna 1 1 2000 -
Madhukar 1 1 2300 -
 Factory: Evaporation

0 In the second FFE design, the distribution system at the top tube plate consists of specially designed individual
distributor nozzles for each tube pig. 2). They are inserted into the tubes and distribute the juice to the walls with
a spiraling motion, forming a film. A juice-distribution tray for receiving inlet and recirculation juice is provided
above the distributor nozzles. The nozzles are easily removed for cleaning.
e In the third FFE design juice enters from the top of the calandria. A juice distribution device rests on the top of
the tube plate. The distribution box can be removed when required. The juice leaving the distribution box
descends in a filmlike layer in each tube (Fig. 3). There is a collection chamber for juice with a central funnel.
The juice captured by the funnel is transferred to the next vessel and the juice that falls outside the funnel gets
recycled.
Additional distributor designs are shown in Figures 4, 5 & 6.
The heating surface, tube length and size, and other dimensional details are indicated in Table 1.
STEAM ECONOMY
The various prime movers used in the Indian industry exhaust steam at 0.4-0.5 kg/cm2(g) pressure. Therefore,
in most installalions an attempt has been made to achieve steam economy through intelligent vapor bleeding. The use
of FFE in the first and second effects has enabled the factories to bleed vapors from these vessels to vacuum pans at
0.1-0.2 kg/cm2(g) pressure. Pressure lower than this is inadequate for rapid boiling in most factories because they
have only batch pans. The FFEs have therefore helped in providing the necessary vapor pressure for the vacuum pans.
Substantial steam economy has been reported by various factories through use of FFEs, leading to a drop in steam
consumption of 0.4-0.5 kglkg of sugar. The pressure and temperature drops across the FFEs compared to
conventional vessels for various duty applications are indicated in Table 2A & B.
CLEANING SHUTDOWNS
It is difficult to remove the cumbersome juice distribution arrangement for m e c l d c a l cleaning of tubes.
Fortunately most factories lave reported only a minor drop the in overall heat transfer co-efficient in comparison with
conventional vessels after similar throughput and duration. In addition the scale formed in falling film vessels is very
soft and is easily removed by chemical cleaning. All factories have therefore resorted to chemical cleaning of the
falling film vessels with the distribution system in situ during the crushing campaign. Mechanical cleaning is required
and done only in the off campaign.
RESIDENCE TIME
A common feature reported by all factories is very low residence time of juice in comparison with conventional
vessels with similar heating surface area. Retention time has been estimated to be about 30 sec vs 15 min for Robert-
type vessels, and 5 min for climbing film vessels (Table 3).
SUGAR LOSSES
The sugar loss due to inversion of sugars and or destruction of the reducing sugars has been reported to be very
low in falling film vessels. A detailed study was done by Lonkar, Bhojraj & Gavande. The difference in reducing
sugar per 100 Brix between entry and exit of FFE was from 0.07-0.39 vs 0.21-0.67 for conventional vessels. This
is primarily due to the low residence time. A comparison of loss due to inversion in FFEs and other types is shown
in Table 4.
OPERATING PROBLEMS
The factories have reported a number of operating problems such as caramelization in tubes, tube deformation and
insufficient distribution and wetting. Initially there were a number of incidents of choking due to inadequate wetting
of the tubes. This problem has largely been overcome through increased recirculation of juice. The number of
recirculation is kept at about 1.5; however, this has led to use of substantial power and increased pump costs.
Tube deformation has been a problem in numerous factories. This has been solved in many cases by keeping the
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J.J. Bhagat
-
-
Evaporator body shell
Juice inlet pipe
Juice overflow tray
Deflector plate

- . ' - Hole (2110)

Hole (15 mm 0 hole)
Tube plate
Tube

15 mm s hole

-0-

Top superimposition of
15 mm holes onthe
tubes of the tube plate
Figure 6. Juice distributor system.

Table 2A. Pressure and temperature drop.

Vessel Pressure/Vacuum Temperature 'C
effect Type Calandria Vapor space Difference Calandria Vapor Diff.

1 Climbing film 0.7-0.8 kg/cm2g 0.15-0.35 kg/cm2g

Falling film 0.7-0.8 kg/cm2g 0.40-0.40 kg/cm2g
2 Falling film 0.20-0.35 kg/cm2g 50 mm (vac)
Falling film 0.20-0.35 kg/cm2g 50 mm (vac)
3 Falling film 0-50 mm (vac) 200 mm (vac)
4 Robert 200 mm (vac) 380 mm (vac)
5 Robert 380 mm (vac) 530 mm (vac)
6 Robert 530 mm (vac) 640 mm (vac)

Table 2B. Pressure and temperature drop.

Vessel Pressure/Vacuurn Temperature "C
effect Type Calandria Vapor space Difference Calandria Vapor Diff
(kg/cm2)
1 Falling film 0.65-0.7 kg/cm2g 0.25-0.28 kg/cm2g 0.40 125 105 20
2 Robert 0.25 0.00 0.25 105 100 5
3 Robert 0.00 175 mm (vac) 0.23 100 90 10
4 Robert 175 mm (vac) 400 mm (vac) 0.29 90 77 13
5 Robert 400 (vac) 660 mm (vac) 0.34 77 55 22
 Factory: Evaporation

Table 3. Residence times in different evaporators,

Falling Rising
film film Robert
Surface (m2) 3000 3000 3000
Tube length (m) 15 7.0 2.5
Shell diam. (m) 2.586 3.786 6.449
Flow rate (tlh) 250 250 250
Brix in 11.0 11.0 11.0
Brix out 16.6 16.6 16.6
Retention (min) 0.548 4.962 15.884
Courtesy: Vasant Data Sugar Institute, Pune.

Table 4. Sugar loss.

Crush rate Sample RsIlO
(TCD) details pH Brix Pty 0 Brix Diff.
1850 Clear juice 7.0 17.06 79.69 13.66 -
FFE 6.9 22.80 79.64 14.05 0.39
Vapor cell 6.8 23.51 79.07 14.72 0.67
(Robert)

1850 Clearjuice 7.0 16.96 78.18 9.72 -

FFE 6.9 22.29 77.40 10.02 0.30
Vapor cell 6.8 24.50 76.80 10.52 0.50
(Robert)

1640 Clearjuice 6.9 17.78 65.64 9.69 -

FFE 6.8 22.40 64.98 10.01 0.32
Vaporcell 6.8 24.40 64.50 10.54 0.53
(Robert)

1720 Clearjuice 6.9 17.82 67.06 10.94 -

FFE 6.8 25.60 66.62 11.14 0.20
Vapor cell ' 6.7 23.60 65.68 11.39 0.25 .

(Robert)

1250 Clear juice 6.9 16.14 72.88 I 1.47 -

FFE 6.8 19.34 72.75 11.54 0.07
Vapor cell 6.7 21.00 72.60 11.85 0.21
(Robert)
 - p p - - - - 7

, >

I J.J. Bllagat

1ei1gt.hof tubes < 10 m aid also by arrangulg baffle plates uiside the calatldria to give adequate support to the tubes.
Suppost below the tube plate is also provided to prevelit sagguig due to the weiglit of tlie tubes aid plate. Expansio~~
joiiits ul the calalldria sllell also help to prevei~tdeformatiol~due to differential thermal expalsion.
The elurinme1g of juice is a co~nmoilproblen~at the vapor- separation stage; therefore, asrangemelits lave been
made UI many cases to provide separate vapor-separation vessels.
These are fitted with efficient poly baffle-type separators of 304SS Table 5. Rate of evaporation (selected
quality. factories).
EVAPORATION RATE Location
The rates of evaporatioa hi all falluig film vessels ui~der of FFE Evap.rate
coi~sideratiol~ are low. Eve11 the pressure aiid temperature drop across FactoV (effect) (kg/m2/11)
tlie FFE is UI many cases Iliplier tlian iii conventioial vessels. Give11 the 1 24.65
Malegaol1
tlhi fihn ald abseilce of any liydrostat~cpressure. it was expected tllat 2 20.80
FFEs should result in a lligli overall heat transfer co-efficient and hence MaIljara 1 29.60
rate of evaporatiou; but tlus was iiot so. The reasolls for low evapora- Mula 1 20.56
tioil rates inay be the result of mefficient juice distribution a~id Poruli 1 24.12
iloiiu~~ifonn fill11 tluckness aiid tube wettmg. hiotlier possibility is
Rouzagao~~ 1 24.61
ii~e'ff~c~eutdistributioii of stem1 in the calaidria. To ensure proper
2 21.60
distribut~on,seine factories llave arranged for a sweepuig effect of stean 3 10.54
ui the calaldsia arxl Imve reported superior perforinNlce. A colliparisoii Aruna 1 21.52
of evaporation rates ui differelit co~lfiguratioiisis give11 ui Table 5.

CONCLUSIONS
TI]; study of FFE perfor~rwlceiii the cane sugar uidustry UI hidla, ptoducu~gpla~itatloilwlute sugar for d~rect
coi~smrgtion,shows tllat there is sipticatit advatitage UI tellns of lower juice-rete~it~on
tune and sugar loss. A number
of jmce dlstnbutloii systelrisare employed, but they are far from perfect. The probleiris of caramel~zatlo~i of juice UI
tlie tubes, tube defonratioii aiid juice eiitrauu~~e~it have been largely mrwercome tl~ouglivarious UuiovatioIis. The
mnauitelwice costs of FFE vessels were also low. However. overall heat tr;uisfer co-efficie~itsaid lie~icetlie rate of
evaporation aclueved at tlie various uistallat~o~is were low, requ~ruighrtlier study aid Improvements.

REFERENCES
Loilkar, M.Y.; Bliojraj, S.K.; GavxKle, C.N.; Falluig F~ltliEvaporator, 54th hmual Conveiit~oiiof S.T.A.I. (1992).