Hello!

 

What material would be best for condensating steam back to water outside?

 

*To clarify, I am making something which involves turning jets of steam back into water outdoors in the blazing sun (Texas, baby!) and I need a cost-efficient material which I can shoot the steam against and have it condensate quickly back into water.

Edited April 13, 20178 yr by HelloScience

That's a tall order. First problem is that the heat of vaporization/condensation of water is very large-- which is why it is so useful in steam turbines. So-- you need to spray it on something that can take away a lot of heat. I suggest anything that conducts heat really well-- which pretty much means metal of some kind. It would also help to have lots of surface area to promote heat transfer. I'm giving you theory instead of actual details because, in all honesty, I can't think of anything that would work really well in Texas heat.

A lot of metal tubes with cold water flowing through them.

A lot of metal tubes with cold water flowing through them.

With rough exteriors as well.

A big heat sink...

Edited May 6, 20178 yr by 000

A lot of metal tubes with cold water flowing through them.

Why JUST water...why not add a solute to the water to raise the boiling point?..a coolant. Salt, glycerol, etc. You're going to want to keep that water cold as long/ much as possible

Why JUST water...why not add a solute to the water to raise the boiling point?..a coolant. Salt, glycerol, etc. You're going to want to keep that water cold as long/ much as possible

It depends on the requirements and the design. If you have a large enough supply of water and/or manage to cool it down quick enough, it will never reach boiling point.

 

Typically, you don't want salty water in steel tubes.

Maybe run ice water through steel or glass tubes. (Like a condenser for distillation)