ENCON Evaporators
97 Eddy Road Unit 6
Manchester, NH 03102-3226
Phone: (603) 624-5110
Fax: (603) 627-9520

ENCON Wastewater Evaporator vs. Submerged Combustion

Adequate Surface Area for Smooth Boiling

This design calls for high pressure burners firing into relatively small, open-ended heat exchangers or sparger tubes. This pressure forces wastewater out of the tube but allows the burner flame and hot flue gases to contact the waste stream.

encon Since the submerged combustion design has a small heat exchanger, the cross-sectional area of the evaporator tank is very small. This, along with the pressurized combustion gases and a sealed vessel, results in a violent boil. This makes the submerged combustion design vulnerable to eruptions, boil over, and exhaust of foam up the stack. The ENCON Wastewater Evaporator provides adequate water surface area, which is critical for vigorous yet non-violent boiling.

Permittable as an Evaporator

The heat exchanger for the ENCON Evaporator is a Turbulent Flow Immersed Chamber that does not allow flame or extremely hot flue gases to contact directly with the wastewater. This is critically important, since many wastewater evaporator applications contain oil, hydrocarbon based soaps, and metals that can potentially volatilize upon contact with a hot flame. Since submerged combustion systems operate with the wastewater contacting high temperature flues gases and in some instances direct flame contact, emissions in the form of hydrocarbons and metals can result. This no longer qualifies the system as evaporation equipment but rather as an incinerator, which requires more costly and time-consuming permitting.

Low Pressure Burner

The ENCON Wastewater Evaporator utilizes a low-pressure burner, which requires only 5 inches of water column for gas pressure. The burner utilized by a submerged combustion system requires as much as 56 inches of water column to fire effectively. Many industrial facilities only have low-pressure gas (7-12 inches of water column) available.