In: Mechanical Engineering
A continuous evaporator is operated with a given feed material
under conditions in which the
concentration of the product remains constant. The feed rate at the
start of a cycle after the
tubes have been cleaned has been found to be 5000 kg/h. After 48 h
of continuous operation,
tests have shown that the feed rate decreases to 2500 kg/h. The
reduction in capacity is due to
true scale formation. If the downtime per cycle for emptying,
cleaning, and recharging is 6 h,
how long should the evaporator be operated between cleanings in
order to obtain the maximum
amount of product per 30 days?