Application of improved high-performance evaporator

Abstract An improved horizontal-tube, thin-film evaporator that has a high heat transfer coefficient when working at low temperature is described. Applying this evaporator, it is possible to design a multi-effect distiller with a very large number of effects and a vapour compression distiller with an extemely small compression ratio, thus achieving a considerble reduction in energy consumption in those processes. Actual applications of this improved evaporator are described as used in a conventional multi-effect distiller, a solar heated multi-effect distiller, a double-effect reheat type distiller and a mechanical vapour compression distiller. A notable point of this paper is the introduction of a new vapour compression distiller that has a lower energy consumption than even seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant.