Condition of steam heating outlet
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I would like to ask fellow sailors: when steam is used as the heat source in the shell side of a vertical thermosyphon reboiler, is the steam exiting the shell side purely liquid condensate, or is it a gas-liquid mixture?
It needs to be controlled so that it is entirely in a liquid state.
Hello, I have another question: if it’s all liquid condensate, will condensate accumulate in the shell side of the reboiler, thereby causing subcooling?
Hello, I have another question: if it’s all liquid condensate, will condensate accumulate in the shell side of the reboiler, thereby causing subcooling?
It will be subcooled in terms of the steam inlet temperature; whether water remains depends on how you control it.
Using a steam trap or level control can both remove condensate water
As with normal steam heating, there will be a continuous film of condensed water, but it is removed quickly, so there is no need to worry.
There are still some points that are not clear. If liquid condensate accumulates in the shell side of the reboiler, then the area submerged by that condensate represents sensible heat; wouldn’t this lead to a reduction in the effective heat exchange area? So, during normal operation, isn’t the amount of condensate that accumulates very small, or basically none at all?
In normal production, there is very little liquid accumulation, as it is all drained through the condensate pipelines. Unless there is a fault in the drain pipeline.
It will decrease. In some cases, this is done intentionally to reduce the heat exchange area of the reboiler; by controlling the size of this heat exchange area, the same effect as adding or removing steam can be achieved.