Regarding saturated steam and superheated steam
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If the latent heat of saturated steam at 1.0 MPa is less than that at 0.5 MPa, then when 1 kg of each type of saturated steam turns into saturated condensed water, which one releases more heat? Does superheated steam at 0.5 MPa have a higher heat utilization efficiency than saturated steam at 0.5 MPa?
A distillation tower requires saturated steam at 1.0 MPa for heating; the bottom of the tower only needs to be kept at 120 degrees. However, superheated steam at 0.5 MPa can reach temperatures above 200 degrees. Is it then necessary to keep emphasizing the use of saturated steam at 1.0 MPa? Could it happen that the temperature of the kettle doesn’t rise?
Saturated steam is used to directly utilize the latent heat, while moist heat can be considered negligible in terms of latent heat; therefore, latent heat is generally utilized during the heating process, which is why saturated steam is used. However, during transportation, due to heat losses that occur during the process, although the amount of loss is not significant, superheated steam is usually used for transportation
However, based on calculations of latent heat, steam at 0.5 bar releases more heat upon condensation; in practice, however, the latent heat is merely used as a basis for material balance calculations, and the choice of steam pressure depends on the medium to be heated and the conditions of the equipment. The temperature of saturated steam at 0.5 MPa is 159 degrees Celsius. What if it is necessary to heat the material to 165 degrees? Then the only option is to improve the quality of the steam, by using steam at higher pressure. Additionally, the limitations in the heat transfer area of the equipment also affect the choice of steam to be used