See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/340248908

Multi Effect Evaporator Design Calculation for Brown Sugar Production using
Computational Fluid Dynamics

Article · February 2020

DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.C1019.0193S20

CITATIONS READS

0 813

4 authors:

Bambang Dwi Argo Angky Putranto

Brawijaya University Brawijaya University
50 PUBLICATIONS   67 CITATIONS    22 PUBLICATIONS   26 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Rama Oktavian Randy Cahya Wihandika

Brawijaya University Brawijaya University
18 PUBLICATIONS   51 CITATIONS    62 PUBLICATIONS   106 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Image Processing and Computer Vision View project

Text Mining and Text Information Retrieval View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Angky Putranto on 28 March 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-9 Issue-3S, January 2020

Multi Effect Evaporator Design Calculation for

Brown Sugar Production using Computational
Fluid Dynamics
Bambang Dwi Argo, Angky Wahyu Putranto, Anggi Lestari, Faisal Ramadhan, Rama Okatavian,
Randy Cahya Wihandika

 formation of the color of brown sugar is influenced by two

Abstract: The industrial brown sugar production process is factors, namely the condition of the gum influenced by its
commonly started from grinding, filtering, first heating, sulfuric chemical composition and the manufacturing process. There
acid addition, decantation, and evaporation. Evaporation are several process parameters needs to be considered for
process is essential process stage in the production of brown brown sugar production process from sugar cane, such as the
sugar. The use of Multiple Effects Evaporator (MEE) has been
process temperature, stirring during cooking, as well as the
becoming more common and plays an important role in the food
cleanliness of the process, and the equipment used.
industry, especially for producing high quality agricultural
products. Therefore, several design parameters of MEE should In conventional process of brown sugar production,
be carefully considered such as pressure, temperature, and flow process operator commonly could not control the
velocity. This study discusses the semi-iterative design of triple temperature and mixing process accurately which can affect
effect of feed forward system MEE for industrial-scale and the quality of the product. In addition, the conventional
simulation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This processing production capacity is usually small so that much
study successfully determine the optimum value for the MEE gum will undergo chemical composition changes that makes
parameters in the manufacture of brown sugar and also it difficult to be processed into brown sugar. The energy
compared with Ms.Excel-Solver simulation. The CFD required in the conventional process is high both for cooking
simulation indicates an accurate design process that can be fuel or energy for cooking by humans. For this reason, a
employed to determine the effect of pressure, temperature, and technology transfer is needed for more efficient brown sugar
flow velocity for MEE performance optimization.
processing from by using an evaporator. By using evaporator,
Keywords: Multiple effects evaporator; design; brown sugar;
the operating temperature can be adjusted and maintained,
computational fluid dynamics. thus it can produce more uniform size of brown sugar
compared to conventional processing.
I. INTRODUCTION The design of multiple effect evaporator (MEE) will be
complicated since its various calculation variables and
Sugar cane juice is the raw material for sugar production iteration process involved so that we need a computational
tool to simplify the calculation process. Several studies has
in the form of liquid produced from the juice of sugar cane shown the MEE design calculation phase by using Visual
stems. On a large-scale industrial sugar cane roomie is the Basic Software with some simplifications [1] and also using
raw material for sugar production, which becomes the most Microsoft Excel and Excel Solver as non-iterative methods
demanded daily needs in the upcoming years. Sugar cane for MEE design with forward-feed schemes [2].
juice can be processed into other food processing products Short tube vertical evaporator with a feed-forwarded work
such as brown sugar which is usually operated by small and scheme is the type of evaporator that is commonly used in the
middle industries. Brown sugar can be obtained by sugar cane juice evaporation process. This type uses natural
evaporating the water contained in the sugar cane. The circulation for its heat transfer mechanism. The circulation
rate of this type is greater than the rate of input which is
Revised Manuscript Received on January 5, 2020. influenced by the heat exchanger [3]. The determination of
* Correspondence Author
Bambang Dwi Argo*, Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural the heater size will become important to ensure that mother
Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. liquor flows from the top of the evaporator to the bottom of
Email: [email protected] the evaporator. This type of evaporator is relatively
Angky Wahyu Putranto, Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
inexpensive and can be used for non-viscous solutions which
Email: [email protected] have high coefficient of heat transfer and non-crystal liquids.
Anggi Lestari, Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Due to the poor circulation of liquid in this type of
Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
Email: [email protected]
evaporator, this type is not suitable for liquids with high
Faisal Ramadhan, Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural viscosity. In almost all cases, this type of evaporator operates
Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. continuously, where the rate of input is constant and the rate
Email: [email protected] of concentrate is also constant [4].
Rama Otavian, Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas
Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. Email: [email protected]
Randy Cahya Wihandika, Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Computer
Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
Email: [email protected]

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C10190193S20/2020©BEIESP
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.C1019.0193S20 87 & Sciences Publication
 Multi Effect Evaporator Design Calculation for Brown Sugar Production using Computational Fluid Dynamics

In the process of evaporation of sugarcane juice, aqueous 1. Designing multiple effect evaporator images in
juice with a concentration of 10-13 °brix is evaporated until it solidworks with dimensions that have been determined
reaches a concentrate temperature of 40-60 °brix. This paper through manual calculations
aims to present the process of calculating MEE designs using 2. Enabling computational fluid dynamic simulation on
three effects with a feed-forwarded work scheme using Add-ins in solidworks
solidworks software which is then simulated using 3. Making a create lids at the input and output of each
computational fluid dynamic. evaporator vessel
4. Determine the computational domain of the design we
want
II. MATERIAL AND METHOD 5. Set the boundary condition of the design that has been
made namely the flow velocity, temperature, and pressure
A. Multiple Effect Evaporators Process Simulation 6. Set the goals namely roomie with concentration (x) = 0,6
In this study, the solidworks 2017 software equipped with 7. Running program is carried out to get the values you want
solidworks simulation add-ins was used to design multiple to know
effect evaporators. The process steps of fluid flow simulation An example of a fluid flow simulation activity in a multiple
in a multiple effect evaporator are as follows: effect evaporator can be seen in Figure 1.

Fig. 1. Simulation Process on Multiple Effect Evaporator using Computational Fluid Dynamic

B. Multiple Effect Evaporators Calculation

transfer in each effect, if the area is much different in
each effect then proceed in the second iteration
In calculating the design of multiple effect evaporators
6. Starting the second iteration with different V and L
there are 7 stages that must be performed [4]. The steps for
calculating multiple effect evaporators according to literature values (BRP prediction) is calculated starting from the
are as follows: fourth step until the heat transfer surface area obtained
1. Determining the boiling point on the last effect based for each effect is not much different
on the desired concentration of the product and the 7. Calculating the area of heat transfer in each new effect
pressure on the last effect The examples of manual calculations based on the [4]
2. Determining the total amount of water vapor Method. In this example calculation the case study is used for
the MEE of three effects with a feed-forward scheme so that
evaporated by the whole mass equilibrium process.
the calculation results that refer to the textbook can be used to
Assuming that V1 = V2 = V3 (obtained L1, L2, L3)
validate the calculation results using computational fluid
3. Estimating the temperature drop from effect 1 to effect
dynamic simulation. In calculations using computational
3
fluid dynamic simulations the formulas used for calculations
4. Using heat and mass balance in each effect, calculating
are input when setting desired goals in solid works.
the evaporated fluid and fluid flow in each effects
5. Calculating the value of heat transfer in each effect and
calculate the average value of the surface area for heat

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C10190193S20/2020©BEIESP
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.C1019.0193S20 88 & Sciences Publication
 International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-9 Issue-3S, January 2020

While the parameters that are refuted for the speed of static pressure of 29.80 lbf/in 2, and with a material parameter
behavior are flow velocity, temperature and pressure. The that is a type of stainless steel 302 with a material
calculation results obtained from the simulation are then temperature of 20.05°C. Thermodynamic parameters that are
validated using the results of manual calculations in inputted as boundary conditions are the input mass flow
accordance with the literature. temperature of 50°C with a pressure of 14.70 lbf/in 2 and the
mass flow temperature of the steam input of 121.20°C with a
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION pressure of 29.80 lbf/in 2. Figure 2 shows the simulation
results of roomie for multiple effect evaporators using
A. Multiple Effect Evaporators Process Simulation computational fluid dynamic.
Initial conditions inputted on this simulation are
thermodynamic parameters with a temperature of 50°C and a

Fig. 2. Results of Simulation on Multiple Effect Evaporator

excel-solver simulation. This is influenced by the
B. Process Simulation Result
evaporation temperature which is slightly lower than the
Fluid is simulated until it converges on a multiple effect evaporation temperature. So that it affects the viscosity of the
evaporator so that to achieve convergence 24 iterations are fluid which causes the fluid flow velocity to decrease. The
obtained in the simulation. From the 24 iterations, there are higher the evaporation temperature of brown sugar the
minimum values, maximum values, and average values hedonic quality scale value associated with the hardness of
presented in Table 1 obtained from the results of each brown sugar produced the better [5].
iteration during the simulation process. The simulation
Table- II: Comparison the optimum result
process is carried out from the beginning of the input of
Excel-solver
material in effect 1 and the output of material in effect 3 so No Parameters Units CFD Simulation
Simulation [2]
that the values presented in Table 1 are the total values 1 Flow velocity lb/hr 325.402 375
obtained from the three effects used.
2 Temperature °C 51.39 54.97
Table- I: Results of parameters simulation
2
N Average 3 Pressure lbf/in 0.04 1.94
Parameters Units Min Value Max value
o value
1 Flow velocity lb/hr 7.488 x 10-4 1586.698 138.452 Based on Table 2, there is a difference in the temperature
2 Temperature °C 20.042 199.206 35.867 parameter by using CFD simulation or has an error around
2 20
7% if compared with excel-solver simulation. This difference
3 Pressure lbf/in -24.118 7.513 x 10 3.131 x 1019
occurs due to the fluid convergence process in the MEE so
that there is no heat absorption by the MEE which affects the
Table 2 presents the simulation results using the CFD fluid output temperature in the third effect is smaller than the
Add-ins and the test results using an excel-add solver from results of previous studies [2].
previous study [2]. The flow velocity optimum value by using
CFD simulation has an error of 15.24% if compared with

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C10190193S20/2020©BEIESP
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.C1019.0193S20 89 & Sciences Publication
 Multi Effect Evaporator Design Calculation for Brown Sugar Production using Computational Fluid Dynamics

AUTHORS PROFILE
The last parameter is pressure, which has significant value of Bambang Dwi Argo, is the associate professor who teaches
pressure compared with excel-solver simulation. A in the Bioprocess Technology Study Program, Faculty of
significant difference in value between the two simulation Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya since 33
years ago. As a Senior Lecturer, he is very active in research
methods used is also indirectly influenced by the temperature and community service activities. He has also published
used. The low temperatures will also affect the pressure several books, has many publications and patents in the field
produced. However, based on the results of the program of Agricultural Engineering Modelling and Bioenergy, and as a keynote
speaker on various scientific activities in Indonesia.
validation with manual counts in the textbooks it was found
that the program that was made with solidworks produced Angky Wahyu Putranto, is a young lecturer who teaches in
the calculations as desired. Both Solid works with CFD the Bioprocess Technology Study Program, Department of
add-ins and Ms. Excel-solver can be used easily for MEE Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
Technology, Universitas Brawijaya since 5 years ago. He is
design calculations. The use of Add in steam tables will also active in research activities in the field of downstream
greatly simplify the calculation process so that in the bioprocess optimization.
calculation it is not necessary to see the steam table
Anggi Lestari, is a student in the Department of Agricultural
repeatedly manually [2]. The use of Excel-Solver and Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Technology,
solidworks-CFD can be a non-iterative calculation solution Universitas Brawijaya. She is also active in the student
for estimating Boiling Point Rise and for estimating the organizations activities and community service.
detailed heat exchanger size in order to optimize of MEE
performance.
Faisal Ramadhan, is a student in the Department of
Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
IV. CONCLUSION Technology, Universitas Brawijaya. He is also active in the
student organizations activities and community service.
The computational simulation validation with a manual
calculation in the literature, it was found that the simulation
results using computational fluid dynamic are in well
agreement with the desired results. The simulation process is Rama Oktavian, is a young lecturer who teaches in the
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering,
carried out until the fluid converges in a multiple effect Universitas Brawijaya since 7 years ago. He is also active in
evaporator with 24th iterations so that the minimum and thermodynamics and phase equilibrium.
maximum values of temperature, pressure and flow velocity
can be determined as the testing parameters. There is an error
value between the CFD simulation results and excel-solver Randy Cahya Wihandika, is a young lecturer who teaches
simulation result since the fluid process for convergence that in the Informatics Engineering Department, Faculty of
Computer Science, Universitas Brawijaya since 6 years ago.
affects the product output temperature, pressure, and product He is also active in research activities in the field of image
flow rate with the concentration of thick liquid brown sugar processing and computer vision.
equal to 0.6. The CFD simulation process for evaporator size
determination was carried out until the 24th iteration to
obtain small deviation. By using the computational fluid
dynamic software, an accurate design process can be
performed to determine the effect of parameters in order to
optimize of MEE performance.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the institute of research
and community services of Universitas Brawijaya through
dedicated doctoral program funding 2019.

REFERENCES
1. A. J. Cudier, and C. O. Fuentes, “A simplified and generalized method to
size multiple-effect evaporator systems with any feed scheme”, 2nd
Mercusor Congress on Chemical Engineering, 4th Mercusor Congress on
Process System Engineering, Costa Verde, Rio de Janeiro-Brazil, 2005.
2. D. F. Al Riza, M. B. Hermanto, B. D. Argo, “Desain multi effect
evaporator dengan menggunakan excel add-in dan solver”, Prosiding
Seminar Nasional PERTETA, December 2012, pp. 1-6 (in Indonesian).
3. E. A. Gloria, “Pengaruh °brix terhadap karakterisitik perpindahan panas
pada evaporator robert sistem quintuple-effect di PG. Gempolkrep, Jurnal
Teknik ITS, vol. 5, no. 1, 2016 (in Indonesian).
4. C. J. Geankopolis, “Transport Processes and Unit Operation”, 3rd edition,
New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc, 1978.
5. S. R. Dewi, N. Izza, D. A. Agustiningrum, D. W. Indriani, Y. Sugiarto, D.
M. Maharani, R. Yulianingsih, “Pengaruh suhu pemasakan nira dan
kecepatan pengadukan terhadap kualitas gula merah tebu”, Jurnal
Teknologi Pertanian, vol. 15, no.3, pp. 149-158, 2014 (in Indonesian).

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C10190193S20/2020©BEIESP
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.C1019.0193S20 90 & Sciences Publication
View publication stats