The Drum Film Evaporator (DFE) is a horizontal industrial evaporation system designed to process high-salt solutions prone to scaling. Its core component is a long, rotating, thin-walled metal drum surrounded by a stationary sealed housing that acts as a steam heating jacket.
The DFE architecture allows for horizontal scaling by increasing the drum length rather than height, which is a key advantage for facilities with limited vertical space. To support long drums, the design uses a series of intermediate roller supports with controlled elastic compliance to manage structural loads and thermal expansion.
To address scaling, the DFE features an internal heavy metal rod with elastic spiral elements. As the drum rotates, these spirals mechanically scrape deposits from the heat exchange surface and act as an auger to transport the removed material toward the discharge zone.
The system utilizes a controlled siphon discharge mechanism to handle thick suspensions and crystals. A fixed curved pipe with a piston-driven mechanism initiates the flow, allowing the concentrate to be removed via hydrostatic pressure, which avoids the use of standard valves prone to clogging.
While industrial scraped-film evaporators already exist, the DFE differs by rotating the heat exchange surface itself rather than using an internal rotor with blades. This design aims to provide an alternative for large-scale evaporation tasks, though its performance compared to existing solutions requires further experimental validation.
