Mechanical Vapor Compression
IDE's MVC Highlights:
- Low Temperature Seawater Distillation
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Electrically Driven
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Superior Reliability and Availability
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Simple and Economical Operation & Maintenance
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High Quality Product (2ppm)
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Capacities: 100 - 3,000 cubic-meter/day per unit
IDE's MVC units are the units of choice where electricity from the grid or diesel generator is the available power source, because they utilize the highly efficient evaporative condensers in single or multiple effect configurations.
A unique, self-developed centrifugal compressor, integrally mounted on the evaporator vessel, is the source of the heat input to the unit. IDE MVCs are available in capacities ranging from 100 to 3,000 cu.m/day in a single unit with larger plants being realized by multiple unit installations.
THE PROCESS
Vapor Compression Distillation is inherently the most efficient distillation process. It achieves its high efficiency in a simple manner, without the need for a complex design based on a large number of stages or effects.
Application of the heat pump principle continuously recycles and maintains the latent heat exchanged in the evaporation condensation process within the system. In this scheme, the heat required to evaporate part of the processed feed, which flows on one side of a heat transfer surface, is supplied through the simultaneous condensation of the distillate-producing vapor on the other side of the surface.
A compressor, acting as the heat pump, is the driving force for this heat transfer, and provides the energy required to separate the solution and overcome dynamic pressure drop losses and other irreversible factors. The vapor generated from the solution is pumped to the higher pressure-enthalpy level required on the condensing side.
This work, plus the fraction required for liquid pumping, is the only energy consumed by the process. No additional heat is required.
The low energy requirement for the IDE MVC is further reduced to a minimum by adopting a highly efficient horizontal tube, falling film, evaporative condenser. Large heat transfer areas are incorporated, and parasitic pressure drop losses are reduced by integrating the compressor within the evaporator. Due to this evaporator design, the pumping head of the compressor is low - only 2.50C (50F).
The IDE MVC is unique in that the distillation step is carried out at close to ambient temperatures. The ability to operate at such low temperatures is due to the exclusive self developed, light-weight, high volumetric flow compressor, capable of handling the large rarefied volumes typical of low-temperature, low-pressure steam.