HelloScience Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 (edited) 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, 2017 by HelloScience 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldChemE Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 A lot of metal tubes with cold water flowing through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 A lot of metal tubes with cold water flowing through them. With rough exteriors as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
000 Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 (edited) A big heat sink... Edited May 6, 2017 by 000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Engineer Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessehk Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Maybe run ice water through steel or glass tubes. (Like a condenser for distillation) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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