This project study was aimed at designing, fabricating, and evaluating the performance of a double effect evaporator, which was used to evaporate sugar syrup to be used for students’ demonstration. During the course of the study, the methods that were used comprised of the material balances, energy balances, and determination of the component parts of the evaporator. The results from the study included the overall material in the evaporator’s system, the material balance for each effect, the effect heat duties and required heat transfer areas, the temperatures for each effect, and the equipment specifications. A feed flow rate of 0.63kg/s was used which produced a product having a flow rate of 0.593kg/s with the total water evaporated as 0.037kg/s. It was discovered that the solid compositions of feed increased across each effect, from 0.725 to 0.745 to 0.77 solid composition, while the feed flow rate across each effect reduced from 0.63 kg/s to 0.613 kg/s to 0.593kg/s. Reduction in heat duties from 79.3KW to 37.8KW were obtained across each effect, which subsequently gave a reduction of heat transfer areas across each effect as 0.005m2 and 0.003m2. The temperatures of the products, exiting effects 1 and 2 were given as 112°C and 98.22°C respectively, which lead to a decrease in steam saturation temperatures from its initial temperature at 120°C to 107.22 to 93.16°C. This also lead to an increase in boiling points of the products from 4.78°C to 5.06°C. An overall steam economy of 1.03kg of water vaporized per kg of steam consumed was obtained, as well as the capacity which was obtained as 133.2kg of water vaporized per hour. From the study, it was concluded that the equipment was capable of utilizing the steam that is being fed into the double effect evaporator, thereby managing cost and time. At the end of the experiment, it is advised that more effects should be added to the system, other types of feed arrangements should be tested to determine its efficiency.
Keywords: double effect evaporator, sugar slurry, sugar
