Vaporizer

Vaporizers
Vaporizers are heat exchangers which are specially designed to supply latent
neat of vaporization to the fluid. In some cases it can also preheat the fluid then this
section of vaporizers will be called upon preheating zone and the other section in
which latent heat is supplied ; is known as vaporization zone but he whole assembly
will be called upon a vaporizer.
Vaporizers are called upon to fulfill the multitude of latent-heat services which are
not a part of evaporative or distillation process.
There are two principal types of tubular vaporizing equipment used in industry:
Boilers and Vaporizing Exchangers. Boilers are directly fired tubular
apparatus which primarily convert fuel energy into latent heat of vaporization.
Vaporizing Exchangers are unfired and convert latent or sensible heat of one
fluid into the latent heat of vaporization of another. If a vaporizing exchanger is
used for the evaporation of water or an aqueous solution, it is now fairly
conventional to call it an Evaporator, if used to supply the heat requirements at
the bottom of a distilling column, whether the vapor formed be stream or not, it is a
Reboiler; when not used for the formation of steam and not a part of a distillation
process, a vaporizing exchanger is simply called a vaporizer.So any unfired
exchanger in which one fluid undergoes vaporization and which is not a part of an
evaporation or distillation process is a vaporizer.
The commonest type of vaporizer is the ordinary horizontal 1-2 exchanger or one of
its modifications, and vaporization may occur in the shell or in the tubes. If steam is
the heating medium, the corrosive action of air in the hot condensate usually makes
it advantageous to carry out the vaporization in the shell.

In the case of vaporizer, however, operation is often at high pressure, and it is

usually too expensive to provide disengagement space in the shell m, since the
inclusion of disengagement space at high pressures correspondingly increases the
shell thickness. For this reason vaporizers are not usually designed for internal
disengagement. Instead some external means. Such as an inexpensive welded drum,
is connected to the vaporizer where in the entrained liquid is separated from the
vapor.

When a 1-2 exchanger is used as a vaporizer, it is filled with tubes and cannot be
adapted for blowdown, since all the feed to a vaporizer is usually of value and a
rejection as blowdown is prohibitive. If the feed were completely vaporized in the
vaporizer, it would emerge as a vapor and any dirt which a was originally present
would be left behind on the tube surface over which total vaporization of occurred,
fouling it rapidly, If the 1-2 exchanger (vaporization) were over-designed, that is, if
it contained too much surface, disengagement would have to occur on the tubes and
due to the excess surface the vapor would superheat above its saturation
temperature.

The feed to a vaporizer should not be vaporized completely. The value of this rule is
apparent. If less that 100 percent to the feed is vaporized in 1-2 exchangers, the
residual liquid can be counted on to prevent the accumulation of dirt directly on the
surface of the heating element. A maximum of about 80 percent vaporization
appears to provide favorable operation in 1-2 exchanges, although higher
percentages may be obtained in vessels having interval disengagement space.

Forced and Natural – circulation Vaporizer. When liquid is fed to is fed by forced
circulation.

The circuit consists of a 1-2 exchanger serving as the vaporizer and a disengaging
drum from which the unvaporized liquid is withdrawn and recombined with fresh
feed. The generated vapor is removed form the top of the drum.

The vaporized may also be connected with a disengaging drum without the use of a
reticulating pump. This scheme is natural circulation. It requires that the
disengaging drum be elevated above the vaporizer.

The advantages of forced circulation or natural circulation are in part economics

and a part dictated by space. The forced-circulation arrangement requires the use of
a pump with its continuous operating cost and fixed charges. As with forced-
circulation evaporators, the rate of feed recirculation can be controlled very closely.
If the installation is small, then use of a pump preferable. If a natural-circulation
arrangement is used pump and stuffing box problems are eliminated but
considerably more headroom must be provided and recirculation rates cannot be
controlled so readily.

The vaporization of a cold liquid coming from storage, the liquid may not be at its
boiling point and may require preheating to the boiling point. Since the shell of a
forced-circulation vaporizer is essentially the same as any other 1-2 exchangers, the
preheating can be done in the same shell as the vaporization. If the period of
performance of a vaporizer is to be measured by a single overall dirt factor, it is
necessary to divide the shell surface into two successive zones, one for preheating
and one for vaporization.

The true temperature difference is the weighted temperature difference for the two
zones, and the clean coefficient is the weighted clean coefficient.
Vaporizers tend to accumulate dirt, and for his reason higher circulation rates and
large dirt factors will often be desirable. Preference should be given to the use of
square pitch and a removable tube bundle. Although it may reduce the possibility of
using a 1-2 vaporizing exchanger for other services, the baffle spacing can be
increased or staggered form inlet to outlet to reduce the pressure drop of the fluid
vaporizing in the shell.

Types of Vaporizers

 Vertical Vaporizer
It is widely used for chlorine, ammonia, propane, methanol, sulfur dioxide,
etc. Sizes range from 50, 000 to 15, 000, 000 Btu/h (12,500 to 3, 75, 000 Kcal/h) Very
compact, High productivity, easily combined with built in super heater with
common control. Many heating media can be used, including steam, hot water, and
heat transfer fluids such as dowthrerm,, therminol, etc, electric heated vaporizers
also available, Small footprint.

 Indirect Fluid Heater

Very useful for high pressure or corrosive fluids where special metallurgy can
be used in smaller, less costly containment than traditional shell side boiling.
Heating medium heats an intermediate bath of water/NH3/Therminol or similar
heat-transfer fluid that then heats a second coil at much lower cost than shell side
heating or boiling.

 Tubular Low Temperature Vaporizers

Combination of large flow rates liquid heat up and subsequent boiling or
super heating of mixed fluids with diverse boiling points. Needs special stress
analysis and mechanical design? Can preheat, boil, and super heat in small vessel.

 Impedance Electric heater

Electric heater for process fluids. Lowest cost heater for life of equipment.
Easily cleanable, very safe, very long life simple maintenance, good for high
temperature boiling. Heat to 20000f, very useful for remote locations of corrosive
fluids or gases. Electric current flows though the containment tube and generates
heat that is transferred to the fluid.

 Electric Resistance Vaporizers

Classic reboiler or submerged resistance heating elements in normal shells
for pool boiling duty. Useful for low to medium capacity loads and more common
metals of construction can have combined superheat coils int eh the same
containment vessel.

 Electrical Radiant Furnaces

 Radiant furnaces for high temperature boiling levels of corrosive fluids or
hating up to very high exit temperatures above fluid hating media capability [i.e.
20000F (10930C)]. Also for very high-pressure or corrosive fluids. Sizes form 12 to 50
ft (3.6 to 15.3) high. Can be very high capacity [some about 15, 000 kW
(12, 900, 000keal/H)] near nuclear site.

 Cryogenic Vaporizer
For boiling very low temperatures [-3270F (-2000C)]. Flare drums duty, to
meet a few second startup emergencies. Heating medium in shell and boiling fluids
inside the tubes. Must be able to copy with thermal expansion and adjustments in a
few seconds with out damaging stresses. Also must avoid metallurgical problems
including fatigue for duties at high pressure such as ethylene. Etc. Avoid freeze-up
problem s and heat up the fluid to required exit temperatures with no
accompanying freeze up problems. Also, used to heat subzero liquids being
distributed on service grids to multiple users and cold fluids from ships or rail cars
needing heat up to avoid fracture of steel or other non ductile piping systems of user
Sizes can bye up to 12ft (3.6m) in diameter and 40 ft (12m) long. Shells often steel
with tubes of stainless steels 604 / 613.

The End