# Steam separator

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Steam_separator
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Steam_separator.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_separator
> Source revision: 1289294023
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Device for separating water droplets from steam}}
A '''steam separator''', sometimes called a '''moisture separator''' or '''steam drier''', is a device for separating water droplets from steam.  The simplest type of steam separator is the [steam dome](/source/steam_dome) on a [steam locomotive](/source/steam_locomotive).  Stationary [boiler](/source/boiler)s and [nuclear reactors](/source/nuclear_reactors) may have more complex devices that impart a "spin" to the steam so that water droplets are thrown outwards by [centrifugal force](/source/centrifugal_force) and collected. All separators require [steam trap](/source/steam_trap)s to collect the water droplets that they remove.

It is important to remove water droplets from steam because:
* In all engines, wet steam reduces the [thermal efficiency](/source/thermal_efficiency)
* In piston engines, water can accumulate in the cylinders and cause a [hydraulic lock](/source/Hydrolock) which will damage the engine
* In [thermal power station](/source/thermal_power_station)s, water droplets in high velocity steam coming from nozzles (or vanes) in a [steam turbine](/source/steam_turbine) can impinge on and erode turbine internals such as turbine blades. 
* In other steam-using industrial machinery, water can accumulate in piping and cause steam hammer: a form of [water hammer](/source/water_hammer) caused by water build up 'plugging' a pipe then being accelerated by the steam flowing through the pipe until it reaches a sharp bend and results in catastrophic failure of the pipe.

'''A steam drier''' is also sometimes applied to a drier that operates as a low-temperature [superheater](/source/superheater), adding heat to the steam.

==Applications==
* Atomizers
* Boilers
* Catalyzing systems
* Cooking processes using a steamer
* Engines
* Other steam systems
* Rubber vulcanizing machines
* Steam-powered irons
* Turbines

== See also ==
* [Steam dryer](/source/Steam_dryer), a device for drying another material, such as [laundry](/source/laundry) or a [biomass](/source/biomass) fuel, with the use of hot steam, rather than for drying steam.

==Sources==
* [http://www.rdc.gov.lv/nucpedia/uk/steam_sep.htm Nuclear Encyclopedia article]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930071548/http://www.rdc.gov.lv/nucpedia/uk/steam_sep.htm |date=2007-09-30 }}
* [https://www.tlv.com/global/TI/steam-theory/separators.html Separators and their Role in the Steam System]

Category:Boilers
Category:Nuclear reactors
Category:Steam boiler components
Category:Steam power

{{Nuclear-tech-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Steam separator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_separator) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_separator?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.