What is the process of concentrating fruit juice using a single-effect evaporator?
The Process of Concentrating Fruit Juice Using a Single-Effect Evaporator
Evaporation Process:
The process involves heating a fruit juice with 5% total solids from 20°C to evaporate its moisture content at 80°C in a single-effect evaporator. Steam at 103°C is supplied to facilitate the evaporation process.
To calculate the amount of water evaporated and the concentration of the fruit juice, we can use the principle of mass balance. Assuming we have 100 kg of fruit juice initially with 5% total solids, we determine the amount of water that needs to be evaporated to obtain the concentrated product.
Water Evaporation Calculation:
Water Evaporated = 95 kg (Initial Water Content) - 25 kg (Final Water Content)
Water Evaporated = 70 kg
Approximately 70 kg of water needs to be evaporated from 100 kg of fruit juice with 5% total solids to get a concentrated product with a moisture content that evaporates at 80°C. The final concentrated juice retains the initial 5 kg of solids and has a higher solids concentration.
The steam supplied at 103°C provides the necessary heat for evaporation, while the condensate exits the system to ensure continuous evaporation.
Please note that this calculation assumes ideal conditions and doesn't consider losses or heat transfer efficiency variations in the evaporator.