METHOD OF MONITORING AND OPTIMIZING EVAPORATOR PERFORMANCE

摘要

Fouling of evaporators is a severe problem that results in reduced efficiency of operation of evaporators. Performing maintenance operations on evaporators is a necessary action to ensure continued availability of the evaporator for further use. However, scheduling of maintenance operations is not an easy task. In one aspect, the invention provides a method for operating an evaporator. The method comprises acquiring evaporator data that is selected from a group consisting of temperature, pressure, flow rate, density, viscosity and combinations thereof. The method of the invention then comprises estimating the fouling thickness value using fouling non-linear fouling rate model and the evaporator data. Fouling thickness value is an important measure of the performance of the evaporator. In yet another aspect, the invention provides a system for managing an evaporator.