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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Heat Transfer

Condenser

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/kənˈdɛnsər/nounCore term

In chemical engineering, condenser means: A heat exchanger that cools a vapor until it turns back into liquid, for example at the top of a distillation column or at the exhaust of a steam turbine.

In Turkish: kondenser, yoğuşturucu

How it is used

Used in distillation, refrigeration and power plants. Engineers talk about the overhead condenser, total and partial condensers, and condenser duty. A 'condenser limitation' often caps column capacity on hot summer days.

Example sentences

  1. On hot days the air-cooled condenser can't keep up and the column pressure rises.

  2. Part of the liquid from the condenser goes back to the column as reflux.

Common collocations

  • overhead condenser
  • partial condenser
  • condenser duty
  • air-cooled condenser
  • reboilerA heat exchanger at the bottom of a distillation column that boils part of the bottom liquid to produce the vapor that rises up the column.
  • heat exchangerA piece of equipment that moves heat from one fluid to another without letting them mix, for example from hot oil to cold water through the walls of tubes or plates.
  • distillationA way of separating a liquid mixture by boiling it and condensing the vapor, using the fact that the components boil at different temperatures.
  • reflux ratioIn distillation, the amount of condensed liquid sent back to the top of the column divided by the amount taken off as product (L/D).
  • latent heatThe heat taken in or given out when a substance changes phase, for example from liquid to vapor, without any change in temperature.

More terms: Heat Transfer

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