Kettle reboiler
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What is the difference in heat transfer between a U-tube reboiler and a conventional shell-and-tube heat exchanger? Does it not require an increased fluid flow rate? This issue concerns whether it is a baffle or a support plate, and whether it is necessary to include anti-short circuit mechanisms such as bypass baffles, retaining tubes, or intermediate baffles.
Reboilers are generally used in conjunction with distillation columns, and are installed directly at the bottom of the column or outside it. The heating method can be jacketed, coil-type, or tube-type. The reboiler can achieve vapor-liquid equilibrium once again, equivalent to one theoretical tray. A reboiler is a special type of heat exchanger that can exchange heat while also providing a space for vaporization. The reboiler supplies heat to the condenser at the top, while simultaneously carrying out its own gas-liquid separation. What reboilers have in common with shell-and-tube heat exchangers is that they both consist of tubes and a shell, and are used for heat exchange or phase changes. However, in a condenser, cooling generally occurs after phase change; the material flows through the shell side, with baffle plates installed in between ； In a reboiler, the material flows through the tube side, while a certain liquid level is maintained in the kettle section to facilitate evaporation; there is also a relatively large space at the top for vaporization to take place. This is the structural difference between a reboiler and a shell-and-tube heat exchanger.
Thank you, expert. I’m designing a BKU-type evaporator, which is essentially a reboiler. I’m wondering whether, since the fluid does not need to flow rapidly in its shell side, it is not necessary to install any anti-short-circuiting mechanisms