engineeringnet.

be

PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

Can a

steam jet ejector

fit your vacuum process?
by Frank Moerman, MSc., EHEDG Belgium and Nico Desanghere, MSc., Sterling SIHI

Vacuum is widely applied in the chemical and food processing industry, because it permits to perform processes that
cannot otherwise be done under atmospheric conditions.

he most well-known sub-atmospheric application is vacuum distilation, where vacuum is used to lower the boiling point of a solvent or

other chemical compound in order to perform a separation or purification of a high-boiling-point or thermal sensitive product with minimal input
of heat. Vacuum processing is the solution for the increasing high-purity requirements for a growing number of materials in a large variety of
applications. The costs of rejected, off-specification product and the rising energy costs are the main incentives to apply vacuum

as a process aid.

Applications in the food and chemical industry

Other vacuum applications in the chemical industry are vacuum filtration, vacuum drying, vacuum evaporation, evaporative cooling, degassing, etc.
Common vacuum applications in the food industry are given in Table 1.

Keep up your vacuum with a steam jet ejector

Frequently, food and chemical plants find it less costly to obtain vacuum by means of steam jet ejectors. Especially the chemical industry
makes largely use of steam jet ejec-tors to generate the vacuum required in many distillation processes. Table 2 gives an over-view of
some advantages and disadvantages of steam jet ejectors.

Steam jet ejectors (usually multi-stage) are especially used for wet processes that require vacuum levels ranging from 15 mbar down to 0.1 mbar
vacuum absolute. Water ring

pumps are not capable to generate such a deep vacuum. Moreover, when steam jet ejectors are used to produce the required vacuum for distillation,
evaporation or drying processes, the same steam ejectors can act as condenser for the water or solvent vapours drawn from these processes along with the
air. A cold wall vapour condenser upstream of the steam jet ejector may not be required, except where a

photo: Nitech

Fig. 1: fluctuation of pressure and velocity of the steam/gas-stream over its traject through the steam jet ejector.

very high degree of efficiency is required or where recuperation of solvents is requested. In contrast to steamjet ejectors, water ring pumps may
never act as a condenser in applications where high amounts of solvent or water vapours have to be condensed. In such a situ-ation, always a
barometric or shell-and-tube condenser has to be installed upstream of that water ring pump.

PUMPS & PROCESS MAGAZINE n 69 - maart 2011 21

engineeringnet.be
PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

Application
Vacuum Absolute
Function

(mbar)

50 - 100
Sous-vide cooking

milk

50 - 250
Evisceration (poultry, fish, etc.)
100

Vacuum filtration (e.g. yeast)

- 150

300

De-aeration of vegetable oil

- 600

50

Vacuum drying

Deodorization of vegetable oil

20 - 50 (begin)

1
-3
Fractional distillation of vegetable oil
10
Fractional distillation of essential oils
10
Freezing drying
20
- 50
UHT treatment - vacuum flash cooling of

1 - 4 (end)

Applied to prolong the shelf life of food and to maintain the

basic nutrients in herbs, spices, coffee, fruit, vegeta-bles,
etc.

Vacuum evaporation of milk

50

Milk is heated up to 140-145C in as few as 3-5 s, con-tained

in a holding tube for a few seconds, and then fastly cooled
down to 75-80C due to evaporative cooling as a
consequence of a sudden reduction in pressure.

De-aeration of water
50
Bottling of beer, soft drinks, mineral and

On a rotary dum dryer a filter cake of yeast can be sucked

dry by means of vacuum.

50 - 60
sparkling water

Vacuum packaging of food in plastic

100
bags

Modified atmospheric packaging

Water evaporates more quickly from food under vacuum. By

vacuum drying, food can become crispy, puffed and may
have a stable colour. Vacuum drying is biologically desirable
since some enzymes that cause oxidation of food become
active during normal air drying. These enzymes do not
appear to be active under vacuum drying conditions. The
speed and the fact that it happens at room temperature
guarantees that taste, colour and nutritional value of the food
are preserved. Also the fibers are fully preserved, so after
reconstitution with water, vacuum dried fruit and vegetables
will reproduce the original texture of the fresh fruit and
vegetables. The drying process can be accelerated when
assisted with micro-wave heating.

100

(to remove the air)

To concentrate heat-sensitive products (milk, sugar juices,

etc.) that are prone to discolouration and formation of
cooking favours under the impact of heat.

To preserve the freshness and nutritional quality of the minimal

processed food.

Removal of air of the process water used in the prepara-tion

of soft drinks, sparkling and mineral water.

To remove the bowels.

Removal of air (oxygen) and dust particles from the

bottles to fill.

To remove oxygen that may oxidize unsaturated fatty acids.

To strip compounds that affect flavour, odour, stability and colour
from the vegetable oil.

To separate fatty acids or their esters from edible oils.

Isolation of flavours and fragrances that otherwise may

decompose and polymerize in the presence of to much heat.

To remove oxygen that may impair the nutritional quality

by oxidation and that may promote microbial growth of
spoiling bacteria and food pathogens.

In modified atmospheric packaging, the air is first removed

from the packaging by means of vacuum, to be finally
replaced by a modified atmosphere.

Table 1: vacuum applications in the food industry (Note: with vacuum absolute, we allude to the cacuum pressure measure relative to absolute perfect zero vacuum) .

How a steam jet ejector works

A steam jet ejector is in fact based on the

principles of a water aspirator, that produces a
vacuum by means of a venturi-effect and which
is the oldest known method of vacuum
generation. In a steam jet ejector, however, the

PUMPS & PROCESS MAGAZINE n 69 - maart 2011 23

water is replaced by steam as motive fluid.

The motive steam fluid is expanded, after
passing through a motive nozzle, where the
pressure energy is transformed into kinetic
energy. This energy stream impinges with and
withdraws gases, air and water vapour from
an application where a sub-atmospheric

pressure (vacuum) must be established or

maintained. The steam vapour accelerates into
the inlet cone of the mixing nozzle. After passing through the throat of the mixing nozzle,
into the diffuser, the kinetic energy of the
mixed vapour stream is gradually converted
back into potential energy, i.e. the medium is

engineeringnet.be

PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
stage
steam
jet
ejector
with two
baromet
ric
intercon
densers
and one
baromet
ric
aftercon
denser.

compress
ed to a
higher
discharge
pressure.
Fig. 1
demonstr
ates how
the
pressure
and

velocity
of the
steam/
gasstream
fluctuates
over its
traject
through
the steam
jet
ejector.

Fig. 2:
three-

Basic
compo
nents
of a
steam
jet
ejector

A single
stage
steam
ejector can
produce
only a
limited
vacuum
(cfr. Table
2). Multistage
steam
ejectors
(Fig. 2) are
used when
an
application
requires a
pressure
lower than
what
singlestage ejectors can
develop, as
the

first can
develop a
greater
suction
pressure.
With more
stages
added to
the system,
the
pressure of
the first
stage
becomes

lesser and
lesser,
generating
a deeper
vacuum.
The ejector
which the
entrained
gases enter
first, is
called the
first stage
and
subsequent
stages

are
numbered
in
successio
n.

It is
desirable
to connect
a
condenser
to the
discharge
of each
steam jet
ejector to
bring all
steam and
condensabl
e gases to
the liquid
state,
reducing
the load to
the suc-

ceeding
ejector
stage and
thus
imposing
on
subseque
nt stages
the work
of
compressi
ng only
those
gases that
are noncondensa
ble. The
condenser
s so employed
are
known as
intercond
ensers. A
condenser
connected
to the
diffuser
discharge of
the final
stage is
known as
an
aftercond
enser, that
is used to
prevent
the
discharge
of motive
steam and
condensa
ble
process
vapours
into
atmosphe
re.

An
interconde
nser
operates at
pressures
less than
atmospheri
c (under
vacuum).
It is
therefore
necessary
to provide
means for
draining
the mixture
of
condensing
water and
condensed
steam/cond
ensable
vapours
from a
barometric
interconde
nser, or the
condensed
steam/cond
ensable
vapours
only from
a shelland-tube
intercondenser.
The noncondensabl
e vapours
are
withdrawn
from the
top of each
interconde
nser by the
vacuum of
the
subsequent
steam
ejector.
The after-

Steam-jet
Max.

Advantages
Disadvantages

type
absolute

vacuum

(mbar)

1-stage
66
- High achievable vacuum
- Consumption of large amounts
of steam as

2-stage
5-15
- High suction capacities and gas
flow
pressurized motive fluid

3-stage
1-1.5
- Controlable over a wide range
of vacuum
- High energy consumption

4-stage
0.1-0.3
and flow rates
- Low thermal efficiency

- Excellent to handle condensable

corrosive
- Requires a steam infrastructure

and contaminated loads

- Need for high quality steam
produced from

- Excellent to handle liquid slugs

and solid
soft-demineralised water

particles
- Steam must be dry or should
have less than

- Reliable and robust in arduous

and
2% moisture, because wet steam
may cause

corrosive conditions
the ejector vacuum to break or
fluctuate, and

- Simple design
can erode the nozzle and
diffusers.

- Designed in many materials of

construction
- Needs inter-condensers and
after-condensed

- Mountable in any position

and large amounts of cooling fluid
to

condense the mixture of motive

and process

- Low investment cost

vapour

- No moving parts, less failure

risk
- Contamination of the motive
fluid

- Less susceptible to wear, and

trouble-free- Large amounts of contaminated
steam con-

operation
densate (waste water)

- Long life-span

- Load specific and very sensitive

to variations

- Simple repair & maintenance

in process conditions and

pressure

- No heat emission

- Noisy, requires silencers or

sound insulation

Table 2: advantages and

disadvantages of steam jet
ejectors.

24
PUMPS & PROCESS MAGAZINE n
69 - maart 2011

engineeringnet.be

PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

condenser
operates at
atmospheric
pressure
and is
provided
with a vent
to finally
allow air
and noncondensab
le gases to
escape in
the
atmospher
e.

Barom
etric
conden
sers

A
barometric
condenser
(also called
direct
contact
condenser) is a
vertical
vessel
where
withdrawn
process
vapours are
cooled and
condensed
by direct
contact

with
downward
flowing
cold water
injected
into the
top of the
vessel.
Since the
ope-rating
pressure
of the
condenser is subatmospher
ic (under
vacuum),
collected
condensat
e

(effluent
cooling
water and
condensed
steam/
vapours)
must be
continuous
ly
removed.
That
condensate
is
normally
dropped
into a
recei-ver
tank that is
often
vented to
atmospher
e or a low
pressure
vent
system.
This
creates a
situation
where the
condensate
is under
vacuum in
the
condenser
and is
trying to

move
toward the
receiver
tank that is
under
positive
pressure. To
overcome
this
pressure
differential,
the
condenser
must be
located
higher than
the receiver
tank (the
bottom of
the
condenser
should be at
least 10.4
meters
above the
ground) to
create a tall
barometric
leg (10.4 m
long pipe)
in which a
static
column of
liquid
balances
the
atmospheric
pressure.
The
condensate
must flow
by gravity
through this
long sealed
vertical tail
pipe into

e to gas
accumul
ation.

Fig. 3: if
tail pipe
must
change in
direction, it
should
form at
least a
45 angle
from the
horizonta
l plane;
the
horizonta
l piping
(right
drawing)
is
vulnerabl

a hotwell
(drainage
basin
provided
with an
overflow
or pump)
or a sealed
condensate
tank
(provided
with fluidlevel
control
and
condensate
pump).
The
barometri
c leg
allows the
effluent
coolant
and
condensed
vapours in
the
barometric
condenser
to exit no
matter
what its
vacuum is,
finally
preventing
the
condenser
from
flooding
under
normal
operation.

In the
receiver
tank, the
tail pipe
must be
submerge
d enough
(not less
than 28
cm). If
this seal is
broken,
air will be

drawn into
the

tailpipe,
increasing
the risk for
flooding
the
condenser
and hence
affecting
the
performanc
e of the
downstream
vacuum
source and
the
upstream
vacuum
pro-cess.
The
drainage
lines or
tailpipes
should be
prefe-rably
installed
vertically.
Horizontal
drain leg
runs are
not
recommen
ded,
because
they are
susceptible
to gas
pockets.
The
mixture of
cooling
water plus
con-densed
steam/cond
ensable
vapours
always
contain air
or other
noncondensabl
e gases
which

cling to
upper pipe
surfaces.
All types
of

pipe contain
a certain
amount of
internal
roughness
and,
because of
this, gases
tend to start
clinging and
building up
in the
smallest
crevice. In
addition,
every
flanged
joint has a
slight crack
where a

gasket is
located,
thus
permitting
another
place for
gases to
collect. As
these gases
accumulat
e, they
form tiny
bubbles,
growing
into larger
ones that
eventually
become
big enough
to partially
or completely
block off
piping at
that point.
In that
case, the
condensate

cannot flow
downwards
and soon its
level rises,
flooding the
conden-ser.
If piping
changes
direction, it
must form
at least a
45 angle
from the
horizontal
(Fig. 3).
With this
amount of
sloping,
gases will
either slide
back up the
pipe or
continue
downward
with the
thrust of the
flowing
water. The
45

Fig. 4: (a) with barometric

condensers, it is important to note
that condensate is splashing down
the barometric walls and could run
down the vapour inlet and back
into the upstream vacuum process,
unless the inlet is protected by a
dam or series of elbows; (b)
Degradation of the absolute
vacuum pressure of an upstream
process due to the pooling of liquid
in pockets located in the vapour
inlet or outlet piping. Pocket-free
designs, however, may maintain the
required absolute vacuum
pressures.

PUMPS & PROCESS MAGAZINE n 69 - maart

2011 25

bend may only installed at no less than 5 pipe diameters away from the
condenser outlet flange. Where there is insufficient height to construct
a proper barometric leg, a low-level, condensate-removal system can
be added. This consists of a receiver equipped with a level controller
and a condensate pump. As a condensate pump removes condensate at
a constant rate, a mechanical level controller opens and closes a valve,
to control the flow of cooling water to the condenser. However, if
either pump or controller fails, there is a risk of flooding the vacuum
system. Direct-contact condensers are easily to design, relatively
inexpensive, and make multi-stage steam jet ejector designs less
vulnerable to damage or fouling resulting from carryover of entrained
solids. The major disadvantage of direct contact condensers is the large
quantity of water that passes through once and goes to disposal,
increasing the cost of wastewater and the environmental impact.

Shell-and-tube condensers

Surface-type condensers (that can be provided with supplementary

mechanical refrigeration) are more complex and more expensive;
but the amount of waste water to be treated decreases and valuable
compounds can be recycled. In the case that a shell-and-tube
surface condenser is used, this condenser must also be installed to
allow for complete condensate drainage. The condensate may not
flood the lower tubes of the condenser, otherwise they will not be
able to remove heat effectively.

Measures to protect the upstream process

With barometric condensers, it is important to note that condensate

is splashing down the barometric walls and could run down the
vapour inlet and back into the vacuum process equipment, unless
the inlet is protected by a dam or series of elbows (Fig. 4a).

Condensable vapours flowing in the inlet or outlet vapour pipeline will

naturally condense since the pipe is usually cooler than the saturation
temperature of the vapour it contains. Vapour piping entering and
leaving a barometric condenser (or a shell-and-tube condenser) may
not contain any pockets (Fig. 4b) where this liquid can accumulate.
The liquid pooling in these pockets, will completely seal off the line,
which finally results in a downgrading of the vacuum. The absolute
vacuum pressure up-stream of a pocket will rise dramatically. <<

Literature references

Aliasso, J. (1999), Choose the right vacuum pump, Chemical Engineering,

106 (3), 96-100.

Birgenheier D.B., Butzbach T.L., Bolt D.E., Bhatnagar R.K., Ojala R.E., Aglitz
J. (1993), Designing steam-jet vacuum systems, Chemical Engineering, 100
(7), 116-121.

Croll, S.W. (1998), Keeping steam ejectors on-line, Chemical Engineering,

105 (4), 108-112.

Eckles, A.J. & Benz, P.H. (1992), The basics of vacuum processing,
Chemical engineering, 101 (1), 78-86.

Eckles, A.J. (1997), Difficult to process? Vacuum it!, Chemical

Engineering, 104 (9), 94-100.

Mains, W. D. & Richenberg, R. E. (1967), Steam Jet Ejectors in Pilot and

Production Plants, Chemical Engineering Progress, 63(3):84-88.

Ojala, R. (1992), Keep ejectors online, Chemical Engineering, 101 (5), 114120.

Wetzel, L. (1996), Proper piping for vacuum systems, Chemical engineering,

103 (11), 104-110.

Unique Systems (2010), Installation, operation, maintenance and

troubleshooting of ejector systems, Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, United States,
18 p.