Wiped Film – Tubular Evaporation – Steam-Based

Industry: Dairy (NAICS 3115)

NAICS process:

 

311514 Evaporated and Condensed Milk

 

Process Brief: Water is removed from a viscous product as it flows downward inside a heated pipe.

 

Energy source: Steam/Natural gas

 

Energy Intensity:

 

The wiped film tubular evaporator (also called an agitated thin film evaporator) is appropriate only for viscous products that require a high degree of concentration. While other tubular evaporators use many pipes, a wiped film unit generally uses just one large diameter pipe. The product flows downward along the inside wall of the pipe which is wiped by an internal rotor. The outside of the pipe is heated with high-temperature, high-pressure steam, which is necessary to achieve the necessary heat transfer with the limited surface area of a single tube.

 

Wiped film evaporators are more expensive to build and operate due to the internal rotor and high-pressure steam requirements. The wiped film evaporator is used for viscous products such as corn or sugar syrup.

 

 

Source: http://www.lcicorp.com/evap/tech.html

 

 

Manufacturers

LCI Corporation (formerly Luwa)

PO Box 16348

Charlotte NC 28297

Telephone: 704-394-8341

 

Web site: www.lcicorp.com

 

 

 

Source: Overview GRI-03/0075; Overview photo and graphic from http://www.lcicorp.com/evap/tech.html 3/2007;