Computer Design and Analysis of Operation of a Multiple-Effect Evaporator System in the Sugar Industry

A mathematical model for computer design and analysis of a five-effect evaporator system, commonly used in the sugar industry, is given. The model consists of four equations per evaporator: (1) the enthalpy balance, (2) the heat transfer rate, (3) the phase equilibrium relationship, and (4) the mass balance equation. An iterative Fortran program, developed on the basis of the model proposed above, is employed in two modes of operation. The first one calculates the steam consumption, the heat transfer surface, and the distribution of temperature, composition, and mass flow rates, to give a desired exit composition of the solution. The second one can be used to calculate all the necessary process parameters of an existing industrial evaporator system. The program was tested in solving some real problems frequently encountered in the evaporation of the sugar solution.