An apparatus for evaporative concentration of water, containing hardness-causing substances, to be treated using hot lime softening, includes: a first evaporator configured to form first concentrated water from the water to be treated by evaporatively concentrating the water by first heat exchange with hot steam; a hot lime softener configured to precipitate and to separate hardness-causing substances contained in the first concentrated water from at least a portion of the first concentrated water from the first evaporator by reaction with lime and configured to remove the hardness-causing substances from the first concentrated water; and a second evaporator configured to form second concentrated water by further evaporatively concentrating at least a portion of the first concentrated water that passed through the hot lime softener by second heat exchange with hot steam.

A tube heat exchanger extending in a vertical direction, comprising: a first chamber including a lower portion provided with at least one intake inlet for a diphasic fluid including a liquid and a first vapor containing a mist; an upper portion; and a first recovery member passed through by the first vapor and recovering the mist in liquid form, the first vapor next arriving in the upper portion, a central chamber forming liquid films running over the tubes and vaporizing at least partially to produce a second vapor, the tubes being traveled inwardly by a fluid hotter than the diphasic fluid, and a second chamber receiving the first vapor and the second vapor to form a third vapor, and including an outlet for the non-vaporized liquid and an outlet for the third vapor, the first chamber and the second chamber together forming a volume surrounding the central chamber around the vertical direction.

A liquid separator and concentrator is disclosed. An example liquid separator and concentrator includes a separator column. A spray chamber has a sprayer nozzle to spray an influent within the spray chamber and create a falling film in the separator column. A heating jacket surrounds the separator column, wherein the heating jacket heats the falling film to evaporate at least one portion of the falling film and leaves a concentrate. A concentrate collection vessel receives the concentrate from the separator column.

Methods of making a powdered milk product as described. The methods may include providing an aqueous milk-sourced mixture, and evaporating water from the aqueous milk-sourced mixture to produce an evaporated milk-sourced mixture having a total solids concentration of 35 wt. % or more. The evaporated milk-sourced mixture may be dried to form the powdered milk product, which may have less than 6 wt. % water. Systems for making the milk powdered product are also described. The systems may include an evaporator to evaporate water from a supply of a milk-sourced mixture to form an evaporated milk-sourced mixture. They may also include a dryer to dry the evaporated milk-sourced mixture and atomize it into the powdered milk product.

A method and apparatus for water purification and remineralization are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a plurality of thermally coupled thermoelectric modules, as well as means for enhancing mass and energy transfers. The method provides a highly energy-efficient water purification process. The apparatuses and methods of the present inventions can be used to obtain purified and/or remineralized water at rates suitable for household water consumption.

The present invention refers to a method for reducing heavy end formation and catalyst loss in a continuous hydroformylation process, where an olefin or an olefin mixture is reacted with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a reactor assembly (1) in the presence of a rhodium complex catalyst, comprising at least one organobisphosphite ligand, in order to produce an aldehyde. Said method comprising the addition of an epoxide to the reaction mixture and the continuous or discontinuous removal of early heavy ends.

Use of a method for reduction of heavy end formation and catalyst loss in a hydroformylation process, wherein the method comprises the steps; a) Reacting an olefin and syngas in a reactor assembly (1) utilizing at least one catalyst and at least one ligand, b) Separating an obtained aldehyde from a mixture of aldehyde, catalyst, ligand and early heavy ends in a distillation unit (2), c) Entering the mixture of catalyst, ligand, early heavy ends and rest aldehyde into a short residence time evaporator unit (3) having at least a first rest aldehyde stripper stage (3a) and at least one last early heavy ends stripper stage (3b). Said evaporator units (3) being of a falling film and/or wiped film type, d) That the catalyst/ligand mixture from a lower end (3b1) of the at least one last early heavy ends stripping stage (3b) is entered into a cooling unit (4) immediately after stripping of early heavy ends.

A method for producing molded articles from a base substance which is mixed with a solvent to produce a molding solution, and subsequently this solvent is at least partially removed from the molding solution and the molding solution is supplied to a device (8) for molding, the molding solution is supplied to a vertical cylindrical thin-film evaporator (2) and a horizontal cylindrical thick-film dissolver (4).

A liquid separator and concentrator is disclosed. An example liquid separator and concentrator includes a separator column. A spray chamber has a sprayer nozzle to spray an influent within the spray chamber and create a falling film in the separator column. A heating jacket surrounds the separator column, wherein the heating jacket heats the falling film to evaporate at least one portion of the falling film and leaves a concentrate. A concentrate collection vessel receives the concentrate from the separator column.

A reaction apparatus for producing polyethylene glycol dinitrate (PEGDN) in a continuous manner includes a series of reaction cells spatially disposed in one or more planar structures and a separation arrangement for separating PEGDN and Ammonium Nitrate, in a continuous manner. The separation arrangement is a thin film evaporator and/or falling film evaporator. The plurality of reaction cells includes a feed preparation section having feedstreams for continuously providing an acid composition and a glycol composition to reaction cells. The plurality of reaction cells further includes a nitration section, where the acid composition and the glycol composition react to generate a reaction composition, and a quench and neutralization section, having feed for cooling arrangement and a plurality of feeds for providing an alkaline composition to at least partially neutralize reaction composition. The acid composition includes a mixture of dilute nitric acid and concentrated sulphuric acid.