Mechanical Vapor Compression, or MVC, is a generic process that consists in forcing the evaporation of a liquid by the use of a compressor. The evaporation occurs because the compressor tries to impose a flow rate and that leads to a drop of pressure in an already near-boiling point liquid. To extract the vapor, the pressure at the exhaust nozzle of the compressor is raised to overcome the pressure resistance of the piping and the pressure of the exhaust vessel.
Usually, MVC processes work with closed thermodynamic cycle to allow higher efficiency. In such cases, the intake vessel is called the evaporator and the exhaust vessel is called the condenser.
To evaporate, the liquid needs to be heated and to condense, the vapor needs to be cooled. Thus, these two vessels are often linked to heat exchanger. Without heating and cooling power, the MVC process cannot be sustained.
Note : Vapor is the generic term used to describe a near-condensation gas.
Why do we use MVC?
MVC is a thermodynamic process. It allows the management of thermal and mass exchange between two vessels.
MVC is mainly used to design thermal management systems such as heat pump, air-conditioner and refrigerator. The MVC process allows a reversal of the natural flow of heat tranfer.
The second most common usage of MVC is mixture separation. Whether it is a mixture of solid and liquid or a mixture of different liquids, MVC process can be used to separate the solvant from the rest of mixture.
This technique is largely used in chemistry, and our technology could have some applications in chemistry.
However, our main focus is waste water treatment where MVC process can help separate efficiently clean water from waste.
