In this paper, pumpkin juice concentration was carried out using a three-phase circulating fluidized bed evaporator. The flow and heat transfer characteristics of the evaporation process were investigated and parametric studies were conducted to identify the governing parameters in the process. It was found that the heat transfer efficiency was improved by 35 percent through addition of the inert particles into the two-phase evaporation process. Inert particles also inhibited the forming of fouling during the pumpkin juice concentration. A correlation equation of the boiling heat transfer coefficient was established for the three-phase circulating fluidized bed evaporator. This work improves the understanding of the three-phase circulating fluidized bed evaporator, which is beneficial to its wider application in the foodstuff processing field.
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