Steam

- Steam is the gas formed when water passes from the liquid to the gaseous state. At the molecular level, this is when H2O molecules manage to break free from the bonds (i.e. hydrogen bonds) keeping them together.

Latent Heat of steam

- Latent heat of steam, or more commonly called the heat of vaporization of water, is the amount of heat (energy) required to boil a kg of water at 100C, converting it to steam at 100C at atmospheeric pressure. Steam is supplied in a gaseous state to the heat exchanger. Heat transfer with saturated steam utilizes the latent heat of steam, releasing a large amount of energy as it condenses (changes to the liquid state). Liquid condensate exits the heat exchanger at close to saturated steam temperatures. The amount of energy released per unit of steam is high (up to 539 kcal/kg, or 970 Btu/lb, and higher with vacuum steam).

Back