The Sugar Engineers

Direct Contact Heater (DCH) Rapid Design

Features of the Sugar Engineers' DCH design

  1. It is very resistant to blocking by solids due to the conical trays which allow free flow downwards through the heater.
  2. The direct contact heater (DCH) is non-clogging because there are no perforated plates or other small diameter orifices in which bagasse particles or sugar crystals can collect.
  3. The conical trays are mounted on a central removable tube which allows for easy maintenance.
  4. The DCH is designed for easy cleaning. The internals are mounted on a central spindle which can be removed in one piece for maintenance and cleaning when necessary.
  5. Concentric to radial liquor inlet to ensure even distribution over the conical trays.
  6. Vapour/steam entry is by means of a set of circumferential holes in the shell, surrounded by a steam belt to ensure perfect steam distribution, and to reduce any chance of blockages.
  7. Steam or low grade vapour is admitted to the heater body by means of a carefully sized steam belt and vapour orifices which are sized according to the Knäaut;bel criterion.
  8. The tail pipe is sized to the Hills criterion to be self draining to ensure proper disengagement of vapour and liquor in the drain leg to ensure good performance of the direct contact heater.
  9. The body of the heater is sized to ensure complete heat absorption of the vapour by the juice or other liquor. The flow velocities in the vessel and nozzle are kept low to ensure low pressure drops.

The Sugar Engineers will be very happy to offer you a quote for the design of a direct contact juice heater for your factory. Please contact us.

The design will include:

  1. A detailed and fully dimensioned CAD drawing sent by email
  2. An Engineering specification document
  3. A Process datasheet showing the flows and temperatures and pressures

We are also able to offer Project Management Services for the design, engineering, fabrication and erection of your equipment to ensure it is delivered on time, in budget, to the correct quality.

A partially dimensioned drawing indicative of the design you will receive is available for download.