Design and testing of vertical tubular baffle heat exchanger as an internal reboiler in the distillation device

Reboiler in the distillation device is a heat exchanger to heat or boil liquid material in the distillation column. In this research vertical tubular baffle heat exchanger was designed and used as an internal reboiler in the distillation device. The aim of the study was to observe the temperature distribution during the liquid heating process in the vertical tubular baffle heat exchanger with different dimensions. The study was conducted by designing heat exchangers (HE) with different dimensions in height, diameter, and surface area (number) of tubes. Times and fuels needed to heat the liquid to a temperature of 78 °C were calculated. Based on observations it was found that the different geometry of the vertical tubular baffle heat exchanger gives different performance. Height, diameter, and the number of tubes (surface area) affect the value of the overall heat transfer coefficient, times and fuels needed for heating liquids at a temperature of 78 °C. In the same surface area but different in height and diameter of the heat exchanger, give a different result in overall heat transfer coefficient (U). HE with the number of tubes 3 and 7 obtained a higher value of U with a tube height of 4 cm and a diameter of 4 cm, compared with the value of U in HE with a tube 8 cm in high and 2 cm in diameter, but the opposite occurs in HE with a number of tubes 5. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.