VHE Final heater for deodorization and physical refining of fats and oils - Alfa Laval - #1

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Application This high-performance heat exchanger is specially designed for the final heating of edible fats and oils in deodorization and physical refining plants. This heating takes place under vacuum and sparging steam conditions, using high-pressure steam or another heating medium. The VHE Final Heater is part of the Alfa Laval SoftColumn™ deodorization concept, but is also available as a retrofit component for installation in other deodorization systems – irrespective of origin. Operating principles The cold oil enters the VHE Final Heater at one end of the shell side, which is under vacuum, and flows continuously through a special baffle system until it reaches the outlet connection at the other end. It then flows to the deodorizer by gravity. A fixed overflow pipe on the outlet connection controls the oil level on the shell side. The heating medium circulates under pressure through a set of heating tubes installed inside the heat exchanger. The sparge steam is injected through perforated tubes located on the bottom of the shell, below the heating tubes. Counter-current flow between the oil and heating medium is maintained by a special design of the heating tubes and baffles on the shell side. To empty the shell side, a drain valve is installed on the bottom. Design features The VHE Final Heater is designed to heat oil under vacuum and sparge steam conditions. Gradual heating under such conditions avoids any overheating of the oil on the hot tube surface and means that the oil is treated gently, thus maintaining the quality. The sparge steam also acts as stripping to remove volatiles and to improve the heat transfer rate. The low liquid level ensures that the oil follows the desired path, and thus remains inside the VHE Final Heater for the required time, avoiding bypass. The first oil entering the The VHE Final Heater For deodorization and physical refining of fats and oils VHE Final Heater