Problem of water carried by ammonia vapor during ammonia distillation
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In our factory, there’s a lot of ammonia gas containing water vapor during the ammonia steaming process. Does anyone know what the problem is?
The heat exchanger is not performing well, or there is crystallization
There is a problem with condensation; there isn’t enough cooling water, or the heat exchange efficiency and capacity are insufficient
It might be caused by a clogged heat exchanger; you can check its performance by measuring the water temperatures at the inlet and outlet. Our factory also had this problem before; we installed a heat exchanger.
This post was last edited by yyong110 on 2016-4-22 at 17:22. Possible reasons: 1. Too much alkali was added, causing foaming in the system and severe entrainment of foam; the method to determine this is by testing the pH value of the water – if it is too high, it indicates that too much alkali was used. 2. Issues with the reductor: either the design specifications are too low, some of the condensation tubes are blocked, or there is insufficient cooling water supply. Check the ammonia vapor temperature and the pressure difference before and after the reductor. 3. Too much steam was supplied. Ammonia was detected in the water; if its level is very low, it indicates that too much steam was supplied, resulting in more water being carried along with the ammonia vapor at the top of the tower. At this point, it is mainly the gaseous water carried along, which, after experiencing heat loss in the pipes, partially precipitates in the form of liquid droplets. 4. If the tray is clogged and flooding occurs, this is easy to detect as the pressure drop will soar; generally, this possibility is low.
Should a heat exchanger be added to the incoming ammonia solution?
Well, that makes sense. I guess the steam pressure here is too high, as we haven’t been using a heat exchanger recently. I was wondering what kind of heat exchanger would be better; we’re using plate heat exchangers, and they get clogged all the time
Plate exchangers in ammonia vaporization systems tend to clog easily; spiral plate exchangers are more commonly used.
Regarding ammonia containing water, consider insulating the ammonia pipes to see if that helps; if not, install a gas-liquid separator on the pipes. This way, the condensate or water in the ammonia will be separated, and the ammonia will naturally become much purer.