Evaporation Equipment Common Faults and Repairs

Evaporation equipment plays a crucial role in numerous industrial production processes, such as concentrating solutions and recovering solvents. However, during long - term operation, evaporation equipment inevitably experiences various faults, which affect production efficiency and product quality. Understanding common faults and repair methods is essential for ensuring the stable operation of production.

I. Leakage Faults
(I) Fault Manifestations
Leaks of liquid or steam occur at equipment connections, pipeline welds, and other positions, resulting in material loss and potentially causing safety issues.
(II) Fault Causes
Seal Aging: Long - term exposure to high temperatures and chemical substances causes the elasticity of the sealing material to decline, losing its sealing effect.
Improper Installation: During equipment installation, the sealing surface is not cleaned properly, or the bolt tightening torque is uneven, resulting in poor sealing.
Pipeline Corrosion: The corrosive nature of the material causes the pipeline to become thinner and perforated after long - term contact, eventually leading to leakage.
(III) Repair Measures
Replace Seals: Select seals of appropriate materials and specifications for replacement. During installation, ensure that the sealing surface is clean and flat, and tighten the bolts evenly.
Repair Pipelines: For slightly corroded pipelines, repair by welding; if the corrosion is severe, replace the pipeline with a new one. At the same time, select corrosion - resistant pipes according to the material characteristics.

II. Decrease in Heat Transfer Efficiency
(I) Fault Manifestations
Under the same operating conditions, the evaporation capacity of the evaporation equipment decreases significantly, the material temperature rises slowly, and the expected concentration effect cannot be achieved.
(II) Fault Causes
Scaling on the Heat Transfer Surface: Impurities, salts, and other substances in the material deposit on the heat transfer surface, forming a scale layer that hinders heat transfer.
Insufficient Steam: The steam supply pressure is unstable, or the steam volume is insufficient, unable to provide sufficient heat.
Presence of Non - condensable Gases in the Equipment: Non - condensable gases such as air accumulate in the equipment, occupying the heat transfer space and reducing the heat transfer coefficient.
(III) Repair Measures
Clean the Heat Transfer Surface: Use chemical cleaning or mechanical cleaning methods to remove the scale layer. For chemical cleaning, select appropriate cleaning agents and determine the cleaning process according to the scale composition and equipment material; mechanical cleaning uses tools such as high - pressure water guns and scrapers.
Check the Steam System: Check whether the steam pipeline is blocked and whether the steam trap is working properly to ensure stable and sufficient steam supply.
Eliminate Non - condensable Gases: Regularly open the exhaust valves on the equipment to discharge non - condensable gases. The exhaust device can also be optimized during equipment design.

III. Crystallization Blockage
(I) Fault Manifestations
During the evaporation process, the solute in the material crystallizes and precipitates, blocking pipelines, valves, and the heating tubes of the evaporator.
(II) Fault Causes
Improper Evaporation Process Control: Improper control of evaporation temperature and concentration leads to supersaturated crystallization of the solute.
Excessive Material Residence Time: The material stays in the equipment for too long, and the solute continuously precipitates and accumulates, forming crystallization blockage.
(III) Repair Measures
Optimize the Evaporation Process: Precisely control the evaporation temperature, feed flow rate, and concentration to avoid supersaturation of the solute.
Clean Crystallized Substances: For slight blockages, methods such as flushing and back - blowing can be used to remove the crystallized substances; in case of severe blockages, the equipment needs to be disassembled for manual cleaning. At the same time, anti - crystallization devices such as agitators and forced - circulation pumps can be added to the equipment to prevent the deposition of crystallized substances.
The stable operation of evaporation equipment is of great significance for industrial production. By promptly detecting and solving common faults and taking effective repair measures, the efficient operation of the equipment can be ensured, production costs can be reduced, and production efficiency can be improved. In actual production, the daily maintenance of the equipment should also be strengthened, and the equipment status should be checked regularly to prevent the occurrence of faults.