Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...

of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...

or due to

boiling Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. Th ...

, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Steam that is saturated or superheated is invisible; however, "steam" often refers to wet steam, the visible

mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such a ...

or aerosol of water droplets formed as water vapor condenses. Water increases in volume by 1,700 times at

standard temperature and pressure Standard temperature and pressure (STP) are standard sets of conditions for experimental measurements to be established to allow comparisons to be made between different sets of data. The most used standards are those of the International Union o ...

; this change in volume can be converted into mechanical work by

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s such as reciprocating piston type engines and

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, which are a sub-group of steam engines. Piston type steam engines played a central role in the Industrial Revolution and modern steam turbines are used to generate more than 80% of the world's electricity. If liquid water comes in contact with a very hot surface or depressurizes quickly below its vapor pressure, it can create a steam explosion.

Types of steam and conversions

Steam is traditionally created by heating a boiler via burning coal and other fuels, but it is also possible to create steam with solar energy. Water vapor that includes water droplets is described as wet steam. As wet steam is heated further, the droplets evaporate, and at a high enough temperature (which depends on the pressure) all of the water evaporates and the system is in vapor–liquid equilibrium. When steam has reached this equilibrium point, it is referred to as saturated steam.

Superheated steam Superheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than its vaporization point at the absolute pressure where the temperature is measured. Superheated steam can therefore cool (lose internal energy) by some amount, resulting in a lowering of its ...

is steam at a temperature higher than its

boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envir ...

for the pressure, which only occurs when all liquid water has evaporated or has been removed from the system.

Steam table This page provides supplementary data to the article properties of water. Further comprehensive authoritative data can be found at thNIST Webbookpage on thermophysical properties of fluids. Structure and properties Thermodynamic properties ...

s contain thermodynamic data for water/saturated steam and are often used by engineers and scientists in design and operation of equipment where thermodynamic cycles involving steam are used. Additionally, thermodynamic

phase diagram A phase diagram in physical chemistry, engineering, mineralogy, and materials science is a type of chart used to show conditions (pressure, temperature, volume, etc.) at which thermodynamically distinct phases (such as solid, liquid or gaseous ...

s for water/steam, such as a temperature-entropy diagram or a Mollier diagram shown in this article, may be useful. Steam charts are also used for analysing thermodynamic cycles.

Uses

Agricultural

In agriculture, steam is used for soil sterilization to avoid the use of harmful chemical agents and increase soil health.

Domestic

Steam's capacity to transfer heat is also used in the home: for cooking vegetables, steam cleaning of fabric, carpets and flooring, and for heating buildings. In each case, water is heated in a boiler, and the steam carries the energy to a target object. Steam is also used in ironing clothes to add enough humidity with the heat to take wrinkles out and put intentional creases into the clothing.

Electricity generation (and cogeneration)

As of 2000 around 90% of all electricity was generated using steam as the

working fluid For fluid power, a working fluid is a gas or liquid that primarily transfers force, motion, or mechanical energy. In hydraulics, water or hydraulic fluid transfers force between hydraulic components such as hydraulic pumps, hydraulic cylinders, a ...

, nearly all by

s. In electric generation, steam is typically condensed at the end of its expansion cycle, and returned to the boiler for re-use. However, in cogeneration, steam is piped into buildings through a district heating system to provide heat energy after its use in the electric generation cycle. The world's biggest steam generation system is the New York City steam system, which pumps steam into 100,000 buildings in Manhattan from seven cogeneration plants.

Energy storage

In other industrial applications steam is used for

energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...

, which is introduced and extracted by heat transfer, usually through pipes. Steam is a capacious reservoir for thermal energy because of water's high

heat of vaporization The enthalpy of vaporization (symbol ), also known as the (latent) heat of vaporization or heat of evaporation, is the amount of energy (enthalpy) that must be added to a liquid substance to transform a quantity of that substance into a gas. T ...

Fireless steam locomotive A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives of ...

s were

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s that operated from a supply of steam stored on board in a large tank resembling a conventional locomotive's boiler. This tank was filled by

process steam A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...

, as is available in many sorts of large factory, such as

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

s. The locomotive's propulsion used pistons and connecting rods, as for a typical steam locomotive. These locomotives were mostly used in places where there was a risk of fire from a boiler's firebox, but were also used in factories that simply had a plentiful supply of steam to spare.

Mechanical effort

Steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s and

s use the expansion of steam to drive a

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

or turbine to perform mechanical work. The ability to return condensed steam as water-liquid to the boiler at high pressure with relatively little expenditure of pumping power is important.

Condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...

of steam to water often occurs at the low-pressure end of a steam turbine, since this maximizes the

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

, but such wet-steam conditions must be limited to avoid excessive turbine blade erosion. Engineers use an idealised thermodynamic cycle, the Rankine cycle, to model the behavior of steam engines. Steam turbines are often used in the production of electricity.

Sterilization

An autoclave, which uses steam under pressure, is used in microbiology laboratories and similar environments for sterilization. Steam, especially dry (highly superheated) steam, may be used for antimicrobial cleaning even to the levels of sterilization. Steam is a non-toxic antimicrobial agent.

Steam in piping

Steam is used in piping for utility lines. It is also used in jacketing and tracing of piping to maintain the uniform temperature in pipelines and vessels.

Industrial Processes

Steam is used across multiple industries for its ability to transfer heat to drive chemical reactions, sterilize or disinfect objects and to maintain constant temperatures. In the lumber industry, steam is used in the process of wood bending, killing insects, and increasing plasticity. Steam is used to accentuate drying of concrete especially in prefabricates. Care should be taken since concrete produces heat during hydration and additional heat from the steam could be detrimental to hardening reaction processes of the concrete. In chemical and petrochemical industries, steam is used in various chemical processes as a reactant.

Steam cracking Steam cracking is a petrochemical process in which saturated hydrocarbons are broken down into smaller, often unsaturated, hydrocarbons. It is the principal industrial method for producing the lighter alkenes (or commonly olefins), including ethe ...

of long chain hydrocarbons produces lower molecular weight hydrocarbons for fuel or other chemical applications. Steam reforming produces

syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

or hydrogen.

Cleaning

Used in cleaning of fibers and other materials, sometimes in preparation for painting. Steam is also useful in melting hardened grease and oil residues, so it is useful in cleaning kitchen floors and equipment and internal combustion engines and parts. Among the advantages of using steam versus a hot water spray are the facts that steam can operate at higher temperatures and it uses substantially less water per minute.

References

External links

Thermophysical Properties of Fluid Systems
Steam Tables & Charts by National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST {{Water * Forms of water Gases Water in gas