Patent ID: 6991708

Claim:
A continuous vacuum pan comprising: a cylindrical housing having a vertical axis; at least one liquid heating pan within the housing, the liquid heating pan having a periphery and a bottom; a vertical tube floating calandria within the liquid heating pan, the vertical tube floating calandria having a periphery, and a bottom; a downcomer disposed between the periphery of the calandria and the periphery of the liquid heating pan, with a gap between the bottom of the calandria and the bottom of the liquid heating pan; radially extending baffles in the liquid heating pan defining a plurality of compartments located in series with one another, the compartments ranging from a first upstream compartment to a downstream output compartment; and ports in all of the baffles, except in the baffle between the output compartment and the first compartment, the ports being located above the top of the calandria and permitting communication of liquid between the compartments.