Evaporators separate solvents from mixtures, often used to obtain water from saline water or isolate solids. They are used in materials science, chemical and food production, and can concentrate and purify solutions to limit finished product volume. Different types include air, vacuum, and refrigerated evaporators. Viscosity, scaling, foam, and corrosion can be problems. Evaporators are used in various industries and come in different sizes and shapes.
An evaporator is a device used to separate some sort of solvent from a mixture of materials. Solutions need to be broken down into more purified compounds, then evaporators will remove the unwanted component through a variety of means. Most often, the device is used to obtain water from some kind of mixture, such as saline water. However, the application can also be used in the separation of liquids from solids for the purpose of isolating the solid.
Basically, evaporators are used as part of the overall treatment of substances in the field of materials science. Most likely, they saw it as one of the steps in chemical or food production. Evaporators can be used to concentrate and purify solutions with the aim of limiting the volume of finished products and removing impurities for safer storage and consumption. In this way, costs associated with transporting and processing larger volume materials can be mitigated by simply evaporating the liquids from a product.
The evaporation process differs from drying in that the finished product can still maintain a certain volume of concentration. Many different types of evaporators are used to create this effect. An air evaporator uses heat to stimulate the molecules within a product, causing the liquid to leave the material and enter the surrounding air, leaving only a concentrate. A vacuum evaporator uses the concept of forced liquid removal, creating a pressurized containment unit that physically separates the solvents. Using a similar concept, a refrigerated evaporator causes liquid to be removed using natural cold dehydration techniques, known as crystallization.
There are a number of problems with using an evaporator, most easily found in the food industry. Depending on the content of the material to be evaporated, the overall efficiency of an evaporator can vary. Viscosity also has an alternating effect on the machinery itself, requiring different levels of pressure and horsepower to pump materials in the process. Hard deposits can cause scaling, excess foam can develop on heating and acidic compounds often suffer from corrosion.
Many different companies make evaporators designed for a variety of uses. In addition to the food industry, evaporators are used in air conditioning, heating and chemical production. Automobiles have used evaporators to purify oil, and ships have evaporator systems to keep drinking water on board for crew members. Each of these different devices comes in a variety of sizes and shapes.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
