evaporator

evaporator

Industrial apparatus for converting liquid into gas or vapour. The single-effect evaporator consists of a container or surface and a heating unit; the multiple-effect evaporator uses the vapour produced in one unit to heat a succeeding unit. Double-, triple-, or quadruple-effect evaporators may be used in industrial and steam heating plants. Some evaporators are used to concentrate a solution by vaporizing and eliminating water (e.g., in a concentration plant for sugar and syrup). In purification processes such as desalination, evaporators convert the water to vapour, leaving mineral residues behind; the vapour is then condensed into (desalinated) water. In a refrigeration system, the cooling is produced as the rapid evaporation of the liquid refrigerant absorbs heat.