The multipple effect in a sugar factory operate under vacuum.

Suitable equipment to produce

this vacuum is therefore required.
The commonest arrangement of this equipment is a shown in fig 40.1 with the aid of an air
pump,vocum is produced in an encloced vessels to be maintained under vocuum. Cold water
is pumpedinto this condencer to ensure condensation of the vapour coming from the pans or
from the multiple effect. The condenser is placed at such a height that the water, after serving
to condensethe vapour, can flow out by gravity together with the condensed vapour, the
condener is thus a barometric chamber, extended at the bottom by a baromatric column
dipping into a well open to atmosphere. Since the vacumn approaches within 10% or 20%of
perpect vacumn, and

GAMBAR

Vacum system
Since the liquid in the barometer is water (and not mercury), the height of the column should
be of the order of !0 m (instead of 76cm)
Where 13.6= density of mercury relative to water.
When cold water is not available in sufficient quantity, the warm water leaving the column is
pumped to a cooling pond, from which it returns at a lower temperature, and is returned to the
condenser as cooling water, and so describes a closed cycle.
Vacum system
The vacum installation in a sugar factory may be more oe less complex.
1. Central condenser and air pump
The simplest system consists of centralising the whole installation at one point or in
one part of the factory. We have then a single air pimp, a single pump for cold water,
and single condenser for the whole factory. We have seen (p.685) the drawbacks of
this system, but also have indicated (p.685) that there are cases where it may be
advantageous.
2. Individual condenser and air pump
Many factories, with good reason, prefer to provide a vocuum installation for each
vessel to be served: one for the multiple effect, and one for each vacuum pan.
Sometimes,however, two or three pans may be served by the one installation.
3. Individual condenser with central air pump
Another method is to provide as many individual condenser and baromatric columns
as desired, and to connect the several condensers to a single central air pump
In this case if it is necessary to regulate the vacuum in the several condensers
separately, it is necessary:
a. That the air pump should at a vacuum higher than the highest vacuum sought in
the various condensers and other vessels concerned.
b. . that the various condenser should be connected to the pump by air piping of
crosssection no larger than necessary.

c. . that each of these connecting pipers should be provided with a valve the section
of which should advantagesously be somewhat smaller than that of the pipe and
which will serve to regulate the vocuum in the condenser concerned. For a fine
and more stable control, a by pass may also be installed this valve, with an
auxiliary valve of even smaller section.
d. It is also wise to install a connetion with a valve between the air pipe from the
condenser which normally operate at lowerr vacua and the vapour entry from the
condensers operating under higher vacuum, which are served by air piping of
larger cross_section .although normally closed, this connection can be very useful
in the case of obnormal entry of air into the former condensers (fig. 40>2)
Vacuum equiment

GAMBAR
General values of the vacuum
It is posibble to obtain industrially very, exceeding 75 cm (29 in) for a barometric
pressure of 76 cm (30 in.) however, in the sugar factory , the vacuum sought or
foynd in practice varies between 60 and 68 cm, and generally between 63 and 66
cm.
If the factory is located at an appreciable altitude, the foregoing values should be
multiplied by the ratio H?76 of the local barometric height to the normal height.
Evacuation of air
Vacuum can only be mainted by continual of the air mixed with the vapour and
due particulary to the inevitable leaks existing in the vessels and the piping. If
evacuation of this air ceased, the air would accumulate, and the vacuum would fall
rapidly in spite of the condensation of the vapour.
To this air, originating from leakages and various other sources which we shall
see later (p. 868), is added morever other incondensable gases originating in the
juice. We speak of
The condenser

The mixture (air + other incondensables gases)by designatingit

sometimes incondensables gases ,generally 98_99%
We shall study in turn
1. The condenser, or the apparatus for effecting condensation of the
vapour
2. The air pump, which ensures removal of the air
3. The barometric column , by which the cooling water, together with
the condensed vapour, is discharged
4. The water pumps injecting cold water into the condenser, or
returning warm waterto the cooling system.

5. The cooling system which completes the water cycle by removing

from it the heat which it has picked up in the condenser,
The condenser
The condenser is the closed vessel in which the contact between the vapour to
be condenser and the cooling water is effected
Several types of condenser are distinguished:
1. From the point of view of the means of extraction the air:
a. Wet air condensers, where the mixed air and water are extracted
together
b. Dry air condenser, where the water and the air are removed separately
(figs. 40.4_6,40.8)

GAMBAR
Cross-section of the condenser
Whereas the height of the condenser varies only slightly with the
capacity in term of vapour to be condenser (approximately as the cube
root, if we choose the last figures given), the cross-section will depend
directly on the quantity of vapour to be condensed

Condenser volume
Condenser capacity has been related to volume, the latter being
reckoned as that of the cylinrical portion only, neglecting the upper
and lower conical portions.
Strauss recommend a volume,
of vapour per hour, stewart,
however, has determined experimentally that,
The condenser
Per h was sufficient in most cases and that, in two designs per h was
adequate. The most efficient designs are those ofrain type with water
falling from the top the rain type,
it is stated that the
condensed takes place mainly on the wall of the condenser, and thus is
of advantage for part of thewater flow to be placedin the axis of the
condenser. Thecone at the bottom of the air should have a slope of 70
to the horizontal. According to ziegler this arrangement discharges
twice as much water as slope

Size of vapour pipe

Stricly speaking, the cross section of the vapour pipe which carries the
vapour from the vessel or vessels served to the condenser depens on
the absolute pressure of the vapour, that the throughput of the pipe nin
weight of vapour decreases only slowly as the vacuum increases. For
example, we could use the velocites given in

It would therefore generally be sufficient to design the vapour pipe

for a velocity of .
and it may be readily calculated that the pipe
will still supply the same weight of vapour at a cocuum
. and at the
velocity, still permissible,
, the velocities given in table,,,,.
May in fact be approached without great disadvantage.
Table
In australia, it is recommended that the vapour pipe cross-section
should be designed to give a vapour velocity
, it is
considered that the diameter of the condenser need not be greater than
that of the vapourentry.

EXAMPLE,
Diameter of cooling water tipe
The cooling water may be supplied by gravity or may be supplied by a
Pump. Its effective head, h, will be equal to the geometrical head at the entry to the
condenser, increased by the vacuum in head of water.we have then :

V= water velocity in the inlet pipe, in

a=coefficient depending on the length of the pipe, its bends, valves and obstructions to flow.
In general, a is of the order of
h= head of coldwater, at entry to condenser, in dm
if the water is supplied by gravity, and if the tank from which it comes is at a lower level than
the condenser, it will be necessary first to raise vacuum by means of the air pump in order
that the water may be drawn into the condenser.
The supply tank should not be at more than 6 m .is to be obtained in normal operation,of
mercury is equelm. From the velocity of the water in the pipe, the diameter of the latter may
be bereadily calculated.
D= diameter of cooling waterpipe, in dm

Q1= flow of cooling water, in

V= velocity of water, in

Water separator
Where the air pump is of reciprocating type, it is absolutely necessary to avoid the risk of
water reaching the pump, which woyld cause damage (water hammer) since entrainment or
formation of scum may occur, a separator is interposed for safety between the air outlet from
the condenser and the air pump, in a design project, what quantity of vapour to be condenser
should be assumed as a basis for determining the capacity of the condenser

Weight of vapour to be condensed

Evaporation. The quantity of vapour to condensed is equal to that leaving the last vessel of
the multiple effect,which is readily calculated
Weight of vapour to be condensed
The exact value depending on the amouth of water returned to the pans
This value, moreover,is not uniform: it varies greatly, and showns a marked maximum when
a large pan commences a strike ,
b. Individualcondenser. If the condenser serves a single pan, the great variation in
evaporation rate during the course of each strike . completely alters the problem. It
is necessary to design the condenser, and similarly the pumps, for the maximum
evaporation, which corresponds to the begining of the strike: and to providea mean of
regulation the input of cooling water during the remainder of the strike in proportion
to the quantity of vapour to be condensed, which decreases rapidly until the end of the
strike, the dimension of the condenser will be determined as a function of the
maximum evaporation rates given in table

If the condenser serves several pans, we may estimate

(a) The maximum