Heat Transfer Equipment 2. Boiling and Condensing

Heat Transfer Equipment
2. Boiling and Condensing
2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Towler & Sinnott Chemical Engineering Design only. Do not copy
Chemical Engineering Design
Boiling Heat Transfer
Important for design of reboilers, vaporizers
Generally carry out boiling in separate exchangers
Design of steam boilers is covered in next lecture

Boiling Heat Transfer
Pool Boiling Flow Boiling
Agitation by bubbles and Agitation by bubbles and

natural convection forced convection
Occurs in kettle reboilers Occurs in thermosiphon

reboilers
High fluid velocity

Thermosiphon Reboilers
If we set the reboiler below the liquid
level in the column sump then the static
head drives liquid into the reboiler
The difference in density caused by

vaporization then sets up a circulation,
limited by pressure drop
Two-phase
return Typically design for about 25 to 33%
vaporization per pass
Hot
Utility Thermosiphon orientation can be
vertical (tubeside flow) or horizontal
(shellside flow)
Horizontal is usually cheaper, but

Saturated liquid vertical handles dirty fluids better

Thermosiphon Reboilers
Source: UOP
Double reboilers in each case
Note large vapor return pipes

Flow Regimes in Thermosiphon Tubes
Different flow regimes occur
as vapor/liquid ratio increases
Slug flow is undesirable as it

causes noise and vibration,
but is also unavoidable in
vertical thermosiphons
Annular flow is avoided by

designing for < 33%
vaporization
See section on hydraulics for

calculation of pressure drop in
two-phase flow

Kettle Reboilers
More expensive than
vapor
disengaging
space
vapor horizontal thermosiphon
heating out
Larger diameter shell for
medium in
weir same duty
Additional liquid outlet nozzle
allows for blowdown
TEMA types are (A or B) K (T
or U)
bubble
Often used as steam
heating
point
liquid in liquid
generator because of
medium
out
out
built in separator for
vapor and allowance for
blowdown

Stab-in Reboilers
The tube bundle can
sometimes be fitted inside
the column sump: this saves
a shell
The behavior is similar to

kettle reboilers
The designer has to make

sure there is enough sump
height to give good level
control and pump NPSH
without exposing tubes

Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficient
I II III IV V As T between wall and
fluid increases, h
h increases at first due to
bubbles, but then vapor
blankets the surface and
the heat transfer
coefficient falls
For fired boilers this can
lead to tube failure
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000

Avoid film boiling by
T = Twall - Tfluid limiting design to
maximum critical flux
I: Natural convection heat transfer
II: Nucleate boiling with agitation by bubbles See, Chapter 19, Perrys
Handbook or good heat
III: Nucleate boiling with unstable film transfer references for
IV: Stable film boiling correlation of critical flux
V: Radiant heat transfer
Approximate h Values for Boiling
Liquid Boiling (Shell Side or Tube Side) h (Btu/(hr.ft2.F))
Water 1500
Water solutions, 50% water or more 600
Light Hydrocarbons 300
Medium Hydrocarbons 200
Freon 400
Ammonia 700
Propane 400
Butane 400
Amines 300
Alcohols 300
Glycols 200
Benzene, Toluene 200
Note: Coefficients are based on 3/4 inch diameter tubes. For Tube side flows, correct by
multiplying by 0.75/Actual OD.
Enhancement of Boiling Heat
Transfer: UOP High Flux Tubing
Porous metal coating applied to ID or OD
Porous
Coating
Tube Wall
Source: UOP
Porous boiling surface
Coating thickness 0.127mm - 0.381 mm
Strong metallurgical bond
Interconnecting Channels or Re-entrant Sites
Boiling performance ~ 10x greater than bare tube
Overall performance ~ 2-5x greater than bare tube
Magnification of High Flux Tube Surface
Cavity Coating
Source: UOP
500x Mag

Experimental Pool Boiling Curves
High Flux Tube Bare Tube
1000000
Heat Flux (W/m)
Water Water
100000
Propylene Propylene
10000
0.1 1 10 100
T (C)
Enables closer temperature approaches
High Flux Tube Products
ID Coated
OD Bare or Fluted
OD Coated
ID Bare or Finned
Source: UOP

Applications of High Flux
Reboilers
Thermosyphons (TEMA type H, J or X)
Kettles
Stab-in Bundles
Condensers (Kettles)
Boiling Refrigerant
Source: UOP

Condensing Heat Transfer
Important for condensers and heaters that use
condensing steam
Condensing behavior also occurs in many heat

exchangers if a vapor is cooled below the dew point

Two Types of Condenser
Total Condenser Partial Condenser
No incondensible materials Some vapor components dont

in vapor phase condense
Heat transfer coefficient Heat transfer coefficient determined

determined by thermal by thermal and mass transfer
resistances only resistances
Therefore much lower h.t.c.

Liquid film Liquid film
Concentration
Concentration profile of
profile
condensing component
Temperature Temperature
profile profile
Vapor film with high

concentration of non-condensibles
Partial Condensers
Condensing molecules (e.g. water) have to diffuse through noncondensibles
(e.g. air)
Diffusion resistance decreases coefficient

Big difference to size of exchanger
Calculation of condensing coefficients is complex, particularly when coupled

with diffusion resistances, usually done using HX design programs (HTRI,
HTFS, BJAC)
Need to design for accumulation of noncondensibles even in total condensers

Provide a vent at the top of the exchanger
Manually vent as often as required by experience
To keep noncondensibles out of steam system, boiler feed water is degassed

by steam stripping

Bundle Effects On Heat Transfer
Liquid Condensate Film
Tubes in bundle
Condensate draining
from tubes above
creates constant Condensate draining from tubes
rippling and above increases condensate level
turbulence which on tubes below which decreases
improves condensing condensing coefficient.
coefficient
Main Resistance to Heat Transfer on the

Condensing Side is the Liquid Film.
Approximate h Values for
Condensation
Vapor Condensing (Shell Side or Tube Side) h (Btu/(hr.ft2.F))
Steam 1500
Steam, 10% non-condensable 600
Pure Light Hydrocarbons 250-300
Mixed Light Hydrocarbons 175-250
Gasoline 150-220
Gasoline-steam mixtures 200
Medium Hydrocarbons 100
Medium hydrocarbons with steam 125
Pure Organic solvents 250
Ammonia 600
Note: Coefficients are based on 3/4 inch diameter tubes. For Tube side flows, correct by
multiplying by 0.75/Actual OD.

Heat Transfer Equipment 2. Boiling and Condensing

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Heat Transfer Equipment 2. Boiling and Condensing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Heat Transfer Equipment

2. Boiling and Condensing

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Important for design of reboilers, vaporizers

Generally carry out boiling in separate exchangers

Design of steam boilers is covered in next lecture

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Agitation by bubbles and Agitation by bubbles and

Occurs in kettle reboilers Occurs in thermosiphon

High fluid velocity

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

The difference in density caused by

Horizontal is usually cheaper, but

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Double reboilers in each case

Note large vapor return pipes

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Slug flow is undesirable as it

Annular flow is avoided by

See section on hydraulics for

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

The behavior is similar to

The designer has to make

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

0.1 1.0 10 100 1000

Liquid Boiling (Shell Side or Tube Side) h (Btu/(hr.ft2.F))

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Condensing behavior also occurs in many heat

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

No incondensible materials Some vapor components dont

Heat transfer coefficient Heat transfer coefficient determined

Therefore much lower h.t.c.

Vapor film with high

Diffusion resistance decreases coefficient

Calculation of condensing coefficients is complex, particularly when coupled

Need to design for accumulation of noncondensibles even in total condensers

To keep noncondensibles out of steam system, boiler feed water is degassed

2012 G.P. Towler / UOP. For educational use in conjunction with

Main Resistance to Heat Transfer on the

You might also like