Norbert Rillieux (March 17, 1806 – October 8, 1894) was a Louisiana Creole inventor who was widely considered one of the earliest chemical engineers and noted for his pioneering invention of the multiple-effect evaporator.

He was the son of Vincent Rillieux, a white plantation owner and inventor, and his placée, Constance Vivant, a free person of color.

[4][5] As a Creole of color, Norbert Rillieux had access to education and privileges not available to lower-status free blacks or slaves.

In spite of the failure of the collaboration, Norbert Rillieux remained focused on improving the sugar refining process, developing his machine between 1834 and 1843, when he patented it.

The multiple-effect evaporation system that he invented addressed both the spillage that resulted from transfer and the uneven application of heat, as well as making the process safer for workers.

The heat is more easily controlled than in the Jamaican Train method because one source is needed, at a lower temperature, for multiple pans of sugarcane juice.

His great scientific achievement was his recognition that at reduced pressure the repeated use of latent heat would result in the production of better quality sugar at a lower cost.

One of the great early innovations in chemical engineering, Rillieux's invention is widely recognized as the best method for lowering the temperature of all industrial evaporation and for saving large quantities of fuel.

Several years after patenting the system, Norbert Rillieux successfully installed it at Theodore Packwood's Myrtle Grove plantation.

Not long after this, Rillieux's new system was installed at Bellechasse, a plantation owned by Packwood's business partner, Judah P. Benjamin.

Benjamin and Rillieux became quite good friends,[4] possibly due to their similar social situation; they were both considered outsiders in Louisiana's very class-conscious society.

[4] Several years later, the ongoing yellow fever outbreak in New Orleans was addressed by engineers using a method extremely similar to Rillieux's proposals.

Prior to Rillieux's invention, two engineers developed a vacuum pan and electric coils to improve the process of making sugar, but this was unsuccessful due to the use of steam at wrong locations in the machine.