Evaporation Equipment

WFE – Wiped Film Evaporator

Mechotech designs and manufactures the WFE Wiped Film Evaporator as turnkey process equipment for the gentle concentration of heat-sensitive and viscous liquids. Rotor-mounted wiper blades spread the feed into an extremely thin film on a heated surface, which minimises the time the product spends at elevated temperature; Mechotech’s article on herbal extraction describes this for thermolabile extracts such as allicin-containing garlic extracts and delicate floral alkaloids, at the cost of lower throughput than a falling-film evaporator. Its Forced Circulation Evaporator page groups thin-film and wiped-film evaporators as using mechanical wiping for viscous, heat-sensitive liquids. The unit is designed around the client’s feed, throughput and target concentration, then fabricated, installed and commissioned by Mechotech as a single scope.

The WFE Wiped Film Evaporator is built in SS 316L (or a process-appropriate grade) around a heated vessel wall on which rotating wiper blades continuously spread and renew the liquid film, as Mechotech’s illustration shows with a drive motor on top of the evaporator column, a horizontal vessel beside it, a pump and a PLC panel. Electropolished product-contact surfaces, CIP connections and PLC-based control support operation under vacuum, which Mechotech’s garlic-oleoresin article describes as the way to keep a heat-sensitive concentrate cold. The heating medium, the vacuum level, the wiper design and the target concentration are established with the client during process development and pilot validation. Capacity is configured to the customer’s requirement, and the unit is delivered with documentation to support GMP qualification.

Technical Specifications

Evaporator Type	WFE Wiped Film Evaporator — heated-wall evaporator with rotor-mounted wiper blades
Working Principle	Rotating wiper blades spread the feed into a thin film on a heated surface and renew it continuously, so the product spends little time at elevated temperature (per Mechotech’s herbal extraction article)
Suited Feed Character	Heat-sensitive and viscous liquids, including thermolabile extracts (per Mechotech’s herbal extraction article and its Forced Circulation Evaporator page)
Operating Mode	Vacuum operation, deep vacuum where the product is heat-sensitive; level configured in design
Heating Medium	Configured to the process (steam, thermic fluid or other)
Product-contact Material	SS 316L (or process-appropriate grade), electropolished
Drive	Motor-driven rotor with wiper blades (drive arrangement configured in design)
Condensing System	Condenser with vacuum system (configurable)
Automation	PLC-based control (configurable to SCADA)
Cleaning	CIP-capable product-contact circuit
Capacity	Configured to requirement — pilot to commercial evaporation duty; the article describes lower throughput compared with falling-film evaporation
Compliance	GMP hygienic design; full documentation for qualification
Final Output	Concentrated product or paste; condensate / recovered solvent

Plant Capacities

Scale	Typical Duty	Configuration
Pilot	Process validation on heat-sensitive or viscous feeds	Small evaporating surface
Production	Plant-scale final concentration	Evaporating surface sized to the duty
Large production	Higher-throughput concentration	Larger surface or multiple units

Evaporating area, rotor drive and condenser duty are sized to the feed’s viscosity, heat sensitivity and evaporation duty; no fixed areas or throughputs are quoted on this page.

Manufacturing Process

Feed Introduction

The pre-concentrated or viscous feed is pumped to the evaporator and distributed onto the heated wall.

Film Formation

Rotor-mounted wiper blades spread the feed into a thin film on the heated surface and continuously renew it.

Evaporation under Vacuum

Solvent or water evaporates from the film under vacuum, so the product stays at a lower temperature and for a short time on the heated surface.

Vapour Handling

Vapour leaves through the vapour outlet to the condenser; a vacuum system holds the pressure, and condensed solvent can be recovered.

Concentrate Discharge

The concentrate or paste is discharged from the base of the evaporator to the next step, such as spray drying or vacuum drying.

CIP & Changeover

The evaporator and connecting lines are cleaned in place between batches or product changeovers.

Major Plant Equipment

Wiped film evaporator body with heated wall (SS 316L, electropolished)
Rotor with wiper blades, drive motor and seal
Feed pump and feed distribution
Heating medium circuit
Vapour outlet and condenser
Vacuum system
Concentrate discharge pump and receiver
CIP connections
PLC-based control panel

Plant Output

Concentrated product or pasteCondensate / recovered solvent

Applications

Final concentration of heat-sensitive botanical extracts, such as garlic extracts (per Mechotech’s garlic-oleoresin article)
Solvent stripping of spice oleoresins such as cinnamon oleoresin, where Mechotech’s article names a thin-film or wiped-film evaporator for the final step
Concentration of viscous, heat-sensitive liquids (per the Forced Circulation Evaporator page)
Concentration to a paste ahead of spray or vacuum drying

Key Features

Mechanical Film Renewal
Rotating wiper blades spread and renew the film on the heated wall, which Mechotech’s article ties to a short residence time for thermolabile extracts.
Deep-Vacuum Capability
Vacuum operation lowers the boiling point; Mechotech’s garlic-oleoresin article describes concentrating a heat-sensitive miscella at below 40°C with a wiped-film evaporator under deep vacuum.
Handles Viscous Feeds
Mechotech’s Forced Circulation Evaporator page names wiped-film evaporators for viscous, heat-sensitive liquids.
SS 316L, CIP-Capable, PLC Control
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces, CIP connections and PLC control support hygienic, repeatable operation.
Scalable Capacity
The evaporator is configured to requirement from pilot scale upward, with modular expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mechotech supply the complete WFE Wiped Film Evaporator?

Yes. Mechotech is a process equipment manufacturer and supplier, engineering and fabricating the complete WFE Wiped Film Evaporator at our Hyderabad facility, installing and commissioning it as a single integrated system, with documentation to support GMP qualification. Final parameters are established during process development and pilot validation.

What capacities are available for the WFE Wiped Film Evaporator?

Mechotech builds the WFE Wiped Film Evaporator from pilot units for process validation to larger commercial installations. Vessel or unit size, duty and ancillaries are configured to the confirmed throughput or batch size; we recommend a pilot unit to validate parameters before scaling.

Which industries use the WFE Wiped Film Evaporator?

The uses listed on this page are given under Applications. The industry, the feed and the target output are confirmed with the client before the equipment is configured.

What is a wiped film evaporator?

A wiped film evaporator uses rotor-mounted wiper blades to spread the feed into an extremely thin film on a heated surface and keep renewing it. Mechotech’s herbal extraction article describes it as a gentler way to concentrate thermolabile extracts, because the product spends very little time at elevated temperature.

When is a wiped film evaporator preferred over a falling film evaporator?

According to Mechotech’s herbal extraction article, a wiped-film evaporator suits extracts with thermolabile compounds and final concentration to a paste, at the cost of lower throughput than a Falling Film Evaporator, which is the primary concentration step. The choice follows the feed’s viscosity, heat sensitivity and duty, ideally on a trial.

How does it differ from the Thin Film Evaporator?

Mechotech’s Forced Circulation Evaporator page groups the Thin Film Evaporator and the wiped film evaporator as using mechanical wiping for viscous, heat-sensitive liquids. The sources do not state a difference between the two, so the two overlap and the film-renewal arrangement for a project is confirmed in design.

Does it run under vacuum?

Yes, vacuum operation is normal for heat-sensitive feeds, because lowering the pressure lowers the boiling point. Mechotech’s garlic-oleoresin article describes a wiped-film evaporator under deep vacuum to concentrate a heat-sensitive miscella below 40°C. The vacuum level and heating medium for a product are set during process development.

Can it recover solvent?

Yes. The vapour is condensed in the condenser, and the condensate can be recovered where the feed contains a solvent such as ethanol; the recovery arrangement is confirmed in design.

What information is needed to specify a WFE Wiped Film Evaporator?

To configure the equipment Mechotech needs the feed and its solids content, viscosity and heat sensitivity, the starting and target concentration, the evaporation duty, whether the feed contains a solvent that must be recovered, the available heating medium and vacuum, and the hygiene and documentation requirements. A pilot unit is recommended before scaling.

Which related evaporation pages does Mechotech list?

See the Falling Film Evaporator, Rising-Film Evaporator, Thin Film Evaporator, Forced Circulation Evaporator, Vacuum Evaporator, MEE Multiple Effect Evaporator and MVR Evaporator, and for purification the Short Path Distillation Unit. The hub is Evaporation Equipment Plants.

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WFE – Wiped Film Evaporator