Design of falling-film evaporators in the dairy industry

The design of falling-film evaporators for dairy products has hitherto been based on empirical correlations for the heat transfer in the evaporator tubes. With a one-tube evaporator experiments with whole and skim milk were performed to determine the heat transfer and pressure drop in evaporator tubes. Two evaporation regimens are important for dairy products: convection boiling at lower heat fluxes and nucleate boiling at larger heat fluxes. Correlations have been derived. Based on the results obtained, a computer program, EvaDes (Evaporator Design), for the optimal design of multistage falling-film evaporators for dairy products has been developed. It quantifies the heat-transfer area of the stages for different arrangements, process conditions and dimensions of the evaporator tubes.